The Federal Open Market Committee should raise interest rates “at one of the coming meetings” as a hike is justified by the economy’s momentum, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President and Chief Executive Officer Dennis Lockhart said Monday.
“I supported the Committee's decision” to not hike at last week’s meeting, Lockhart told the Rotary Club of Savannah, according to prepared text released by the Fed. “Although I believe further normalization of interest rates will likely be justified by economic performance this year—and possibly relatively soon—I felt a patient approach made sense at this meeting.”
While data has been “mixed” since the December rate hike, Lockhart said “this is almost always the case.” However, he said, overall, recent data seem “positive. I believe a forecast of sustained moderate growth momentum is realistic and remains the likely scenario. In my opinion, there is sufficient momentum evidenced by the economic data to justify a further step at one of the coming meetings, possibly as early as the meeting scheduled for end of April.”
The gross domestic product should rise 2 to 2.5% this year, in Lockhart’s estimation.
The latest inflation data “suggest inflation may firm as we get to the back half of the year,” he said.
