Bullard: Up to Chair Powell to decide size of rate increases at upcoming meetings

© Thomson Reuters FILE PHOTO: St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard speaks at a public lecture in Singapore

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – St. Louis Fed President James Bullard on Thursday said he would defer to Chair Jerome Powell to decide on the size of upcoming rate increases as the Fed feels its way toward more restrictive monetary policy and an eventual stopping point.

“On the question of how much to do at any particular meeting … I would leave that up to the chair,” Bullard said. “If you do more now you have less to do in the first quarter (of 2023). If you do less now then you have more to do in the first quarter. Generally speaking it probably does not make a lot of difference in terms of the macroeconomics.”

The Fed is currently expected to approve a half-point increase at its December meeting.

(Reporting by Howard Schneider; Editing by Mark Porter)