Accommodative Policy Still Rules: Rosengren

Since the recovery remains “tentative” and unemployment is high, monetary policy should remain “very accommodative,” Federal Reserve Bank of Boston president Eric Rosengren said Wednesday. He also said he would not use monetary policy to respond to rising food and energy prices.

“Because my analysis suggests that recent food and oil price increases have their roots in concerns about wheat harvests in Russia and oil production in Libya and the like, I do not believe that monetary policy is the appropriate tool to respond to these disruptions,” he told the Massachusetts Chapter of NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, according to prepared text of his remarks released by the Fed.

“While many observers see food and energy prices rising and assume the Fed should tighten policy — raise the cost of money and credit — to head off inflation, I would suggest taking a step back and recognizing that tighter U.S. monetary policy will do nothing to stabilize Libyan oil production, reduce uncertainty about political stability in the rest of the Middle East, or increase the wheat harvest in Russia,” Rosengren said.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM BOND BUYER