Fed's Hammack wants tighter policy, floats more rate hikes

Federal Reserve official Beth Hammack isn't done fighting inflation. According to investing.com, she's calling for a more restrictive monetary policy stance and floating further rate hikes to rein in persistent price pressures. It's a hawkish signal at a moment when the Fed has been sitting still.

Hammack put her money where her mouth is at the last FOMC meeting, dissenting in favor of a 25-basis-point increase to the federal funds rate. The committee kept the target range at 3.75% to 4.00% instead. Her latest comments suggest she'd back more tightening from here.

Markets are already reacting. Prediction markets tied to future rate hikes have seen a pickup in activity, a sign traders are repricing the odds of the Fed moving again. That's a shift from the wait-and-see mood that has dominated lately.

Next up: Jerome Powell and other FOMC members, whose public remarks will shape how seriously markets take the hawkish case. Watch the language too — if 'data dependent' gives way to 'policy still not restrictive enough,' that's a tell that support for another hike is building inside the committee.

Inflation prints and the next FOMC meeting will carry the real weight. Traders will also be glued to the dot plot and updated economic projections, hunting for any hint that officials see a higher terminal rate ahead.