St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard on Friday said he wanted to cut interest rates this week to guard against an outlook of slowing growth and weak inflation.
In a brief statement posted on his bank’s website, Bullard said that lowering interest rates this week “would provide insurance against further declines in expected inflation and a slowing economy subject to elevated downside risks.”
The Fed voted 9-to-1 to hold its benchmark short-term rate steady on Wednesday with Bullard as the sole dissenter. It was the first dissent under Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s tenure.