Exactly what the Fed's Lacker said on Fox Business
Lacker did his regular hawkish song-and-dance on Fox Business today.
"I thought the case was strong this past week for another increase," he said. "Given how tight labor markets are, given how close we are to our inflation target, our benchmarks point to interest rates that are substantially higher than they are now and I think we need to get on with it."
He cited "clear evidence of wage pressures" as a reason to hike and also that "labor markets are fairly tight right now."
Lacker said that his colleagues believe that they can allow the employment market to get even tighter without sparking inflation.
On capex, he's worried and doesn't have the answers.
He said energy drilling capex has bottomed out and the dollar doesn't explain the drop in capex either. He said there weren't any clear answers so it makes him cautious.
He was asked about a December rate hike. "I think the case is going to be strong based on what I see now, but there's some more data to come in between now and then, so we'll see," said.
Lacker is always hawkish but, if anything, he didn't sound overly adamant today.
You can watch the video of Lacker here.
