Fed’s Lacker Sees Bottom, Recovery Later This Year

The economy should hit bottom later this year and expansion will resume, in large part thanks to the resilience of the American consumer and monetary policy, according to Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond president Jeffrey Lacker.

Calling the recession “severe,” perhaps worse than any recession in the last 60 years, Lacker told the North Carolina Senate Appropriations Committee, “In brief, the declines in economic activity have been large, the declines have been widespread, and the recession has already lasted longer than most post-World War II recessions,” according to a prepared text of his speech released by the Fed.

“Most prominent forecasters expect the recession to end later this year, and I believe that is a reasonable view, for several reasons,” he said. “I will begin by highlighting two stabilizing forces that are often underestimated: one is the resilience of the American consumer, and the other is the power of monetary policy.”

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