By Matthew Boesler and Christopher Condon | Bloomberg
Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William C. Dudley said he’s relatively optimistic a growth rebound will warrant raising interest rates in 2015, though he’s “not reasonably confident right now” inflation will climb.
“I believe that the growth prospects for the U.S. economy over the remainder of 2015 will improve,” Dudley said in a speech at the Bloomberg Americas Monetary Summit in New York. “When, hopefully, the data support a decision to lift off later this year, it does not mean that U.S. monetary policy will be tight.”
Fed policy makers last month were split over whether they would raise rates in June or later, a debate that occurred before disappointing payroll figures for March, minutes of their most recent policy meeting showed.
“It will be important to determine whether the softness in the March labor market report was temporary, or if it foreshadows a more substantial slowing in the labor market than I currently anticipate,” Dudley said. “The timing of normalization remains uncertain because how the economy evolves is also uncertain.”
