Fed's Miran says he's looking for rate cut of 150 basis points this year

WASHINGTON, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Stephen Miran, a Federal Reserve governor whose term ends at the end of January, said Thursday that he is looking for 150 basis points of interest-rate cuts this year to boost the U.S. labor market.

Miran told Bloomberg Television's Surveillance program that Fed officials had room to ?further reduce rates given his view that underlying inflation was likely running at 2.3%.

"I'm looking for about a point and ?a half of cuts. A lot of that is driven by my view of ?inflation," Miran said. "Underlying inflation is running within noise of our ?target, and that's a ?good indication of where overall inflation is going to be going in the medium term."

Miran's comments offered a more ?precise view of his target for rate cuts ?this year, after he told Fox Business Network's "Mornings with Maria" program on Tuesday that "well over 100 basis points of cuts are going to be ?justified this year."

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent ?will press ?the administration's desire for lower interest rates in a speech to the Economic Club of Minnesota, CNBC reported, citing excerpts of his prepared remarks.

"Cutting interest rates will ?have a tangible impact on the lives of every Minnesotan," he said, according to CNBC. "It is the only ingredient missing for even stronger economic growth. Which is why the Fed should not delay."

Fitch Ratings on Thursday raised its estimate of U.S. GDP growth in 2025 to 2.1% from its earlier forecast of 1.8%, and lifted its forecast ?for U.S. ?GDP to 2% for 2026 from 1.9%. It estimates that inflation rose to 3% in December and will end 2026 at 3.2%, reflecting delayed tariff pass-through.

Miran's ?call for 150 basis points of cuts is in line with the lowest projection for the appropriate funds rate by the end of 2026 among the Fed's 19 policymakers released at the end of December's rate-setting meeting. That anonymized estimate saw the fed funds rate at 2.00%-to-2.25% versus the current level of 3.50%-to-3.75% and is also 50 basis points below the next lowest estimate.

Miran's term ?as a Fed governor ends on January 31. He is controversially serving at the Fed while on leave from his role as a top economic adviser to President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly pressed the central bank ?to deliver big rate cuts.????

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal and Katharine Jackson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)