WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The tilt by Fed policymakers to a faster expected start to interest rate increases was a reaction to an economic outlook that took a sharp turn between December and June, Dallas Federal Reserve president Robert Kaplan said on Monday.
As of December the path of the coronavirus pandemic remained uncertain, but “when we got to March it was clearer that we were going to get the pandemic under control…By the time we get to June…you’ve really got a big upgrade” that made the core of officials expect rate increases in 2023 instead of 2024, said Kaplan. “What you are seeing…is monetary policymakers simply reacting to the dramatically improved economic outlook.”
Reporting by Howard Schneider; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama
