Fed’s Waller says US economy can handle half-point rate hikes

WASHINGTON: Federal Reserve (Fed) governor Christopher Waller says the United States economy can handle aggressive policy tightening, as he reiterates support for raising interest rates by a half point next month.

“I prefer a front-loading approach. So a 50-basis point (bps) hike in May would be consistent with that and possibly more in June and July,” Waller said in an interview with CNBC Television.