US Fed's December rate cut should be its last for now: official

Washington: The US Federal Reserve should proceed cautiously before supporting any future rate cuts, a senior bank official said Thursday, adding that...

Washington: The US Federal Reserve should proceed cautiously before supporting any future rate cuts, a senior bank official said Thursday, adding that she saw December's rate cut as a final step for now.

The US central bank voted 11-to-1 in favor of cutting rates by a quarter of a percentage point at the meeting on December 17 and 18, reducing the bank's key lending rate to between 4.25 and 4.50 percent despite an uptick in inflation.

Speaking in California on Thursday, Fed governor Michelle Bowman said she had backed another rate cut but could have been persuaded against it.

"I supported the December policy action because, in my view, it represented the Committee's final step in the policy recalibration phase," she said.

"But given the lack of continued progress on lowering inflation and the ongoing strength in economic activity and in the labor market, I could have supported taking no action at the December meeting," added Bowman, who is a permanent voting member of the bank's rate-setting committee.