Fed's Waller says weak job market justifies rate cut in December

By Howard Schneider

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The data available during the recent U.S. government shutdown shows the job market near stall speed, with state unemployment claims rising slightly, layoff numbers increasing, and no evidence of building wage pressures, facts that warrant another quarter-percentage-point interest rate cut when the U.S. central bank meets next month, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said on Monday.

“The labor market is still weak and near stall speed,” Waller said in remarks prepared for delivery to an economists’ group in London. Meanwhile, inflation, once the likely temporary impact of tariffs is excluded, “is relatively close” to the Fed’s 2% target, Waller said, while economic growth has likely slowed.

“I am not worried about inflation accelerating