Fed policy remains data dependent

Keeping to his specific prognostication that he sees 1 rate hike over the next 2 years.

Adds:

  • no reason to seeing US economy heading for recession
  • risk may be to upside
  • regards steady target rate of 63 basis points as appropriate until conditions change
  • Repeats call for a set of possible 'regimes' that the economy may visit, abandoning concept of single, long-run steady state. Implication is policy rate to remain essentially flat over next 2.5 years
  • St Louis Fed forecasts that over the next 2.5 years GDP of 2.0%, unemployment at 4.7%, Dallas Fed trimmed-mean PCE at 2%

SF Fed president Williams spoke of a shift in central banks and govt strategy. Bullard seems to suggest he is open to that idea as well as the economy goes up and down in shorter spurts, and does not have a normal drawn out business cycles.

The currency markets are little changed.