Fed's Waller: Private sector is not doing as well as it seems

In an interview with Bloomberg on Friday, Federal Reserve (Fed) Governor Christopher Waller said that the private sector is not doing as well as it seems, per Reuters.

Key takeaways

"Business executives say they are not hiring or firing."

"Will not commit to a dissent on interest rate vote ahead of the July meeting."

"Disagreement over monetary policy shows healthy debate at the Fed."

"The debate is not about politics but about making an economic argument."

"Important that dissents are made carefully."

"It is probably not critical if the Fed waits six more weeks to cut, but also no real reason to hold off."

"Tariffs are a tax, and like any tax will be shared by different groups."

"Some of the cost of tariffs will be passed along to consumers, but not in a way that causes persistent inflation."

"If there is a sequence of higher and higher tariffs there could be a rolling impact on prices."

"Market based inflation expectations are still anchored despite the president's comments about the Fed."

"The next chair will have to have credibility with markets or interest rates will rise."

"If the president asks me to serve as chair would accept, so far the president has not been in touch."

Market reaction

Waller's comments received a neutral score of 5.2 from FXStreet Fed Speech Tracker. Meanwhile, FXStreet Fed Sentiment Index remains in hawkish territory above 110.

The US Dollar Index largely ignored these comments and was last seen losing 0.38% on the day at 98.25.