FORT LAUDERDALE — The line at which it would be clear monetary policymakers need to consider more easing has not been reached yet, Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank president Dennis Lockhart said Wednesday.
“The bar remains high,” Lockhart told reporters following a speech to the Broward Workshop in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
But “the concern that we could be looking at deteriorating circumstances, that concern is higher,” he said. As a result, “I don’t think we should take any policy action off the table.”
Lockhart is a voter on the Federal Open Market Committee this year.
Responding to questions, Lockhart said that extending Fed’s $400 billion maturity extension program “Operation Twist is an option that remains on the table.”
Asked what the Fed could reasonably accomplish given that yields on Treasury securities are already at such low levels, Lockhart said the central bank’s balance sheet policy actions also have a portfolio effect.
