Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Jeffrey Lacker said that each meeting of the Federal Reserve System can be seen as a possibility of increasing interest rates. Lacker’s opinion coincides with the forecasts of the majority central bankers, who expect four iterations by 25 basis points in 2016.
John Williams, the Head of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, also stressed the importance of each following meeting, taking into account new data in order to adjust monetary policy in either direction.
Mr. Lacker hopes that the US regulator is not late with the liftoff. According to him, if oil and dollar prices stabilize in 2016, the core inflation in the US will approach the target of 2%. However, Williams believes that inflation will reach 2% only in 2017, and the unemployment rate could fall from the current 5% to 4.5% by the end of 2016.
Last Friday, a member of the Governors Board Jerome Powell, in an interview with radio Marketplace said that he expected further improvements in the labor market, as it is one of the main factors which can influence rate hikes.
Senior official thinks that further progress in the labor market ranks first in the list, following by inflation progress. Powell hopes to see strong growth in the number of jobs. In the United States a very strong growth in employment was recorded during the last three years, and, according to experts, it will continue.
Powell also underlined that the goal of the Federal Reserve - to ensure long-term economic recovery which will last for many years to come.
