Three rate increases should be appropriate this year if conditions are as expected, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President and CEO Patrick Harker said Tuesday.
"I see three hikes as appropriate for 2017, assuming things stay on track," Harker told an audience at Temple University, according to prepared text released by the Fed.
"The economy, overall, is in pretty good shape. After eight-plus long years of recovery, I can say that we're more or less back to full health," he noted.
The unemployment rate is "at or below" Harker's estimate of the natural rate. And while inflation has "been a little more stubborn," he said, "we're on track there as well" and should hit the Fed's 2% target "sometime late this year or early next."
When that occurs, he said, the Fed will meet its dual mandate and then the job becomes maintenance, keeping "conditions right for economic growth."
