Monetary policy

Federal Reserve officials need to show a commitment to reaching their goal on inflation, which has generally been running below target since the financial crisis, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said.

Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley sounded a positive note on the U.S. economy, saying the central bank wanted to tighten monetary policy “very judiciously” to avoid derailing the expansion that began in mid-2009.

The Federal Reserve Board said it raised the discount rate to 1.75% from 1.5%, effective immediately.

President Donald Trump’s budget director said he expects the Federal Reserve to continue to run an easy monetary policy even as it unwinds the “unprecedented experiment” that swelled its balance sheet to $4.5 trillion.

Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen said she has had no conversations with President Trump about her future as Fed chair.

Federal Reserve officials forged ahead with an interest-rate increase and additional plans to tighten monetary policy despite growing concerns over weak inflation.

The Federal Open Market Committee voted to raise the fed funds rate target 25 basis points to between 1% and 1.25%.

Federal Reserve officials surprised some onlookers by unveiling a rough plan for balance sheet runoff in the minutes for their May meeting. They were so on top of things, in fact, that many economists think more formal guidelines could come as early as this week.

Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan is sticking to his outlook for two more interest-rate increases this year, even as he acknowledged recent declines in U.S. core inflation.

Most Federal Reserve officials judged “it would soon be appropriate” to tighten monetary policy again and backed a plan that would gradually shrink their $4.5 trillion balance sheet.