U.S. Fed hawks "Possible further cut in March"

"We can't rule out the possibility of cutting interest rates in March if the slowdown in inflation continues as expected," said Christopher Waller, a hawkish director who prefers monetary tightening within the U.S. Federal Reserve.

"We are optimistic that we could be close to our 2% inflation target," Waller said in an interview with CNBC in the U.S. "If inflation continues to slow, we expect further rate cuts to take place in the first half of the year."Regarding the number of cuts

, he said, "I think it is still possible to cut three to four times within the year," but noted that "the actual number of cuts will be determined by the trend of economic indicators."

Waller's comments come amid growing speculation that slowing U.S. inflation has slowed and strong growth has made it virtually difficult for the Fed to cut interest rates further by the end of this year.

Waller is a moderate hawkish member of the FOMC, or Federal Open Market Committee, and every time he makes a public statement, Wall Street tends to pay attention to whether there is a change of stance compared to previous remarks.