Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said the central bank should begin lowering interest rates next month, telling the Economic Club of Miami he would support a quarter-percentage-point reduction at the Sept. 16-17 Federal Open Market Committee meeting. He argued that the policy rate is “moderately restrictive,” estimating it stands about 1.25 to 1.50 percentage points above the neutral level. Waller added that he anticipates a series of additional cuts during the following three to six months, provided incoming data continue to point to a cooling economy. While ruling out the need for a larger move in September, he said that stance could change if the forthcoming August employment report shows a substantial deterioration and inflation remains subdued. The governor, who dissented in July in favor of an immediate cut, said underlying inflation is running close to 2% once the effects of the 145% tariff on Chinese imports are stripped out. He warned that labor demand is weakening and urged the Fed “not to wait for conditions to worsen” before moving policy closer to neutral.