{"text":[[{"start":7.909,"text":"A top Federal Reserve official has urged his fellow policymakers to consider a 50-basis-point interest rate rise for the first time in four years in December if US inflation does not soon cool."}],[{"start":19.182,"text":"While a quarter-point increase is already widely expected, Fed governor Christopher Waller said on Tuesday that if core inflation remained elevated, then “hiking only 25 basis points would put our credibility at risk”."}],[{"start":31.68,"text":"Speaking ahead of the release of official inflation data, Waller said that if core inflation in October stayed at the 0.3 per cent monthly rate of the previous two months, then “a stronger policy move may be needed”."}],[{"start":44.057,"text":"“In that case, I believe a 50 basis-point hike in the policy rate should be considered at the December meeting,” he told the Bank of England Watchers’ Conference in London."}],[{"start":53.055,"text":"Consumer Price Index figures published later on Tuesday showed month-on-month core inflation remained stuck at 0.3 per cent in October."}],[{"start":61.68,"text":"Waller is the first Fed policymaker to publicly float a bumper December rate increase as the central bank debates how to tackle stubbornly high inflation."}],[{"start":70.072,"text":"Dallas Fed president Lorie Logan also hinted on Tuesday that she could back more radical action on rates."}],[{"start":76.215,"text":"“It remains clear to me, given the current outlook, that the FOMC needs to implement at least two more 25-basis-point rate increases,” she said."}],[{"start":84.72,"text":"“The exact pace of increases could depend on the near-term economic and financial environment. It may be possible to move more rapidly this winter than the FOMC has moved so far this fall.”"}],[{"start":95.096,"text":"US price growth has been elevated for much of 2026, spurred by the war in Iran and the AI construction boom. The Fed raised rates in September for the first time in three years to a range of 3.75 to 4 per cent in an effort to tame inflation."}],[{"start":110.503,"text":"At its October meeting, it opted to hold rates steady pending further data. But two policymakers — Cleveland Fed president Beth Hammack and governor Lisa Cook — dissented, favouring a 0.25 percentage point increase."}],[{"start":124.88,"text":"Waller said on Tuesday that while he had been “willing to wait to tighten monetary policy” last month, inflation data since had been “bad” with “no silver lining”. He noted that research also suggested the price pressures from AI and the Iran war would not “be fading anytime soon”."}],[{"start":143.04,"text":"Cleveland’s Hammack said last week that policy needed to move to a “more restrictive stance”. But she said she favoured “getting to that stance through more frequent, smaller adjustments when possible, something which would be less disruptive to households, businesses and financial markets”."}],[{"start":158.64,"text":"Following Waller’s remarks and Tuesday’s inflation data, traders in the futures market were pricing in an 89 per cent chance of a quarter-point rate increase in December, up from 84 per cent a day earlier, according to CME FedWatch."}],[{"start":172.906,"text":"The odds of a hold fell to zero from 16 per cent, while those for a half-point increase jumped from nil to 11 per cent."}],[{"start":186,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1794365489_6980.mp3"}