"Fed Whisperer": A December rate hike is almost a foregone conclusion, with focus shifted to the pace of hikes.

November 11 - Nick Timiraos, chief economics correspondent for The Wall Street Journal and known as the "Fed whisperer," wrote in his latest article that after the third consecutive stronger-than-expected inflation report, a Fed rate hike in December is almost a foregone conclusion. The real question is how fast the pace will be: whether to continue raising rates by 25 basis points at each meeting, raise by 50 basis points in one go, or signal multiple consecutive 25 basis point hikes.

Nick Timiraos said that a rate hike at the December 8-9 policy meeting is already almost certain, and the bigger question is how fast the central bank will act, and whether this remains a moderate adjustment of two to three more hikes envisioned by several officials, or the beginning of a longer campaign to suppress the economy and bring down inflation. Fed Governor Waller, who supported holding rates steady last week, said before yesterday's data release that if October core prices rose about 0.3% month over month, a 50 basis point hike should be considered in December, and the data that day matched exactly that scenario. Dallas Fed President Logan also hinted after the data release that given current inflation pressures, it may be necessary to accelerate the pace of rate hikes. Such tactical choices are often decided by the Fed Chair.