"Hawkish" Bullard, President of the St. Louis Fed, Says "Inflation Could Become Uncontrollable... Fed Must Act"

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] James Bullard, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and a representative 'hawk,' stated on the 17th (local time) that inflation could spiral out of control and that the central bank, the Federal Reserve (Fed), must take action immediately.

According to CNBC and others, President Bullard attended a panel lecture at Columbia University on the day and expressed concern about recent inflation, saying, "We are facing greater risks than the previous generation." He said, "Inflation will worsen," and added, "I want to make sure that does not happen."

President Bullard is the figure who argued for an aggressive big shot to raise the benchmark interest rate by 1.0 percentage point before July, right after the release of the U.S. January Consumer Price Index (CPI) on the 10th. There are only three Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meetings left before July 1, which means at least one 0.5 percentage point hike is essential. It would be the first time since the 2000s that the Fed raises rates by 0.5 percentage points at once.

On the same day, President Bullard clearly opposed the 'dovish' view within the Fed that inflation would ease as supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic improve. He urged, "There is a risk that inflation will not disappear," and "Therefore, the Fed must move faster and more aggressively than in other situations."

He also stated, "This is not a tight policy. Let no one say this is a tight policy," adding, "It is to send a signal that we take our responsibility seriously."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.