St Louis Fed hawk Jim Bullard is growing more hawkish.
Last week he noted that he'd penciled in three hikes for 2022. Now he's saying that four hikes now appear likely.
He spoke with the WSJ just after today's CPI report showed prices up 7% y/y.
“I actually now think we should maybe go to four hikes in 2022," he said, adding that it's important to go sooner. He said to "make the first move in March." That's something that's 90% already priced into markets.
“If we get a couple of rate-hike moves under our belt during the first part of this year then we’ll be in better shape” for monetary policy over the longer run, and it might allow the Fed to not raise rates as much over time as would be the case if rate rises are delayed, Mr. Bullard said.