Fed's Bullard: Reiterates call for 100bps tightening by July 1, cites high inflation once more

St Louis Fed President and 2022 voting FOMC member James Bullard on Thursday reiterated his calls for 100bps of hikes to the Federal Funds target range by July 1, again citing high inflation. We want to pursue the best policy we can and let the market adjust appropriately, he said in an interview on CNN, adding that this is the moment where we need to share less accommodation. 

Markets have already done a lot of pricing, Bullard noted, adding that he didn't think raising rates would be risking a recession. Rather, this is about the Fed's first moves away from accommodative policy, he continued, noting that the labour markets will continue getting tighter and inflation is eating into wages.

Bullard said that he was confident that we'll come to the right conclusion, but we must act now and stated that even if there was "repricing" in asset markets, asset holders would remain in good shape. Low rates feed into a certain amount of exuberance, he added, saying that he would mostly be concerned about the housing market.