Key Fed official says he’s open to slowing hikes, in December

WASHINGTON — Christopher Waller, a key Federal Reserve official, added his voice to a rising number of Fed officials who have suggested that the central bank will likely slow the pace of its interest rate hikes beginning in December. Waller, a member of the Fed’s Board of Governors, said he was open to raising the Fed’s key rate by a half-point next month in light of evidence that inflation may be cooling. At each of its four most recent policy meetings, the central bank has raised its benchmark rate by an aggressive three-quarters of a point. The cumulative effect has been to make many consumer and business loans costlier and to raise the risk of a recession.