(Reuters) – Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Thomas Barkin on Tuesday said he is very “bullish” on the U.S. economy this year, and expects household savings accumulated during the COVID-19 pandemic to help fuel growth in 2022 and 2023 as well.
“People just have a lot of money in their pockets,” Barkin told the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce. As vaccinations accelerate and people feel more comfortable going out to dinner and getting on airplanes, he said, they’ll spend more of that money, but there’s “no way” it will all get spent this year.
Reporting by Ann Saphir; Editing by Leslie Adler
