(Reuters) – U.S. government data showing consumer prices increasing less than expected in October is “welcome relief,” Dallas Federal Reserve President Lorie Logan said on Thursday, even as she cautioned there is a ways to go in the U.S. central bank’s battle against inflation
“This morning’s CPI (Consumer Price Index) data were a welcome relief, but there is still a long way to go,” Logan said during an economics conference focused on energy hosted by the Dallas Fed and Kansas City Fed in Houston, Texas.
The U.S. central bank last week raised rates by 75 basis points for the fourth consecutive meeting, but signaled it hoped to shift to smaller hikes in borrowing costs as soon at its next meeting as it allows time for the economy to absorb the swiftest tightening of monetary policy in 40 years.
The inflation data, reported earlier on Thursday, provides support for Fed policymakers to dial back its hefty interest rate hikes.
“I believe it may soon be appropriate to slow the pace of rate increases so we can better assess how financial and economic conditions are evolving,” Logan added, even as she warned markets not to confuse a slower pace with easier policy.
(Reporting by Lindsay Dunsmuir; Editing by Paul Simao)
