Fed’s Waller: Rate hike possible if inflation rebounds

Waller's explicit openness to a hike, however conditional, reintroduces a tail risk the market had largely priced out, making the upcoming CPI print a genuine binary event for rate expectations. The subtle shift in tone from a Fed governor matters because it complicates the prevailing narrative of easing, potentially tightening financial conditions even before any actual move. For crypto and RWA markets, the immediate watch is whether the dollar's strength and the yen's firmness—absent confirmed BOJ action—reflect a broader repricing of carry trades, which could pressure risk assets. Whether Waller's stance is isolated or signals a wider hawkish drift within the FOMC is the key question ahead of the data.