Fed board member opens door to 1-point hike if demand rises

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER
AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Christopher Waller, a member of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, said Thursday that he would be open to supporting a huge 1 percentage point increase in the Fed’s key short-term interest rate later this month if upcoming economic data points to robust consumer spending. Such an increase would mark a further ramping up of the Fed’s rate hikes as it intensifies its fight against accelerating inflation. Faster rate increases would heighten the risk that the central bank’s anti-inflationary policies would cause a recession.