OH: Fed Official Says Central Bank Isn’t ‘Really Talking About Rate Cuts.’
A senior Federal Reserve official said Friday that central-bank policy makers weren’t actively debating when to cut interest rates, an apparent effort to temper markets’ exuberant interpretation of comments Chair Jerome Powell made two days earlier.
“We aren’t really talking about rate cuts right now,” New York Fed President John Williams said on CNBC. “We’re very focused on the question in front of us, which as Chair Powell said…is, have you gotten monetary policy to a sufficiently restrictive stance?”
Williams serves as the vice chair of the Fed’s rate-setting committee and is part of Powell’s inner circle of monetary policy advisers.
Stocks surged and bond yields tumbled Wednesday after the Fed held interest rates steady and officials projected three rate cuts next year.
h/t Stephen Green