United States: Fed minutes, speakers, again point to spaced-out hiking cycle

The minutes to the September FOMC meeting were released this week. While the vote to hike was unanimous, there were a few different rationales given for that move. "Many" saw it as prudent risk management, to insure against further upside surprises on inflation. "A number" saw the move as justified based simply on their modal outlook. "A couple" noted it would keep rises in headline inflation from broadening out. And another "a couple" saw the move as justified given their view of the rise in the neutral rate. The minutes note that "most" saw another move as likely appropriate by year-end, as was also signaled by the dot plot. Perhaps the more interesting Fed communications this week came from Governor Waller, who said that while he thinks additional hikes will likely be appropriate, "there is some flexibility about when those hikes will occur. The hikes do not need to come at consecutive meetings." These remarks come on the heels of last week's remarks by NY Fed President Williams and