St. Louis Fed President Bullard says the Federal Reserve should begin hiking interest rates in the first quarter of next year. That’s sooner than the six-month “considerable time” period that Janet Yellen has hinted at. Bullard was careful to quantify the forecast in his comments to Reuters.
“You have to keep in mind I tend to be a more optimistic member of the committee,” he said. “I have a probably, a somewhat stronger forecast and a view about policy that suggests that maybe we should get up a bit faster than what some of the other members have.
By the end of 2016, he said the Fed should be targeting ‘normal’ rates of 4-4.25%. With those forecasts, it’s possible that Bullard has surpassed Fisher as the second-most hawkish FOMC member, along with uber-hawk Charles Plosser. The thing about Bullard, however, is that he frequently changes his mind.
Fed dot chart
