Fed’s Goolsbee says dissent was in favor of waiting for more data, would have entailed little risk

WASHINGTON, Dec 12 (Reuters) – Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said Friday that he dissented against the central bank’s recent quarter-point rate cut because he felt it was better to wait ‍for additional data about inflation and the state of the job market before lowering borrowing costs, particularly given the high concern businesses and consumers still express about rising prices.

Waiting until early next year to cut rates, Goolsbee said, would have given policymakers the benefit of updated government data, with ‌key reports coming next week, while entailing little additional ‌risk to a job market that appears to be “only moderately cooling.”

“We should have waited to get more data, especially about inflation,” said Goolsbee, one of three dissents in the Fed’s 9-3 vote on Wednesd