The Fed may move to raise interest rates as early as the first quarter of next year, as inflation moves toward the Fed's 2% target, St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard said in a televised interview Thursday.
"The Fed is closer to its goal than many people appreciate," Bullard said. "We're really pretty close to normal."
Asked for a prediction on the first rate hike, Bullard said, "I've left mine at the end of the first quarter of next year."
Bullard called the drop in first quarter gross domestic product an aberration that caused "heartburn," and noted inflation is "turning around."
Once inflation hits 2%, Bullard said in the interview on FOX Business Network, a lively discussion will occur to determine the timing and path of rate hikes.
Currently, the "liftoff" is seen in mid to late 2015.
