FOMC

Inflation and the unemployment rate will determine if monetary policy will need to become restrictive in the coming years, Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley said Wednesday.

New tariffs and concerns over widening trade disputes cast a shadow over the Federal Reserve’s most recent survey of U.S. businesses even as all 12 regions reported continued robust job growth with few signs of overheating.

John Williams, who takes the helm of the powerful Federal Reserve Bank of New York in June, played down risks the yield curve would become inverted as the U.S. central bank gradually raises interest rates.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Richard Clarida, a respected economist and Pacific Investment Management Co. global strategic adviser, as vice chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley said the central bank will stay on its gradual path of raising interest rates unless inflation moves up by “an appreciable margin.”

While trade policy poses a risk to U.S. economic growth, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren said Friday, he would support faster rate hikes if risks are avoided and the economy gets stronger.

Federal Reserve officials leaned toward a slightly faster pace of tightening at their March meeting as their growth outlook and confidence in hitting their inflation target strengthened, according to minutes released Wednesday.

Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan said trade issues between the U.S. and China won’t get resolved soon and warned of potential damage.

Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said he’s “sympathetic” to the need to press China to engage in fair trade, yet emphasized it’s too soon to assess the full impact of the U.S.-China trade spat on the economy.

The Federal Reserve should continue gradually raising interest rates if data on consumer prices available by the central bank’s mid-June policy meeting indicate inflation will soon reach the 2% target, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said.