Fed's Waller looks to hold rates steady on oil shock, can't rule out hikes down the road
Key takeaways
- But he’s not ruling out rate hikes if inflation doesn’t come back down.
- “My current policy position is to hold rates steady for the near term,” Waller said in a speech titled “Policy risks have changed” in Frankfurt, Germany.
- Waller stressed that he doesn’t think the Fed should be considering rate increases in the “near future.”
Fed's Waller looks to hold rates steady on oil shock, can't rule out hikes down the road Jennifer Schonberger · Senior Reporter Fri, May 22, 2026 at 9:17 PM GMT+7 3 min read CL=F Federal Reserve Governor Chris Waller said on Friday that interest rates should remain at current levels because higher oil prices could have a lasting impact on inflation. But he’s not ruling out rate hikes if inflation doesn’t come back down.
“My current policy position is to hold rates steady for the near term,” Waller said in a speech titled “Policy risks have changed” in Frankfurt, Germany.
“But I can no longer rule out rate hikes further down the road if inflation does not abate soon, and that is especially true if measures of inflation expectations, some of which have risen lately, show signs of becoming unanchored.”