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Looking at the economy now, she said that she sees strength despite threats from abroad.
"To date, the economic data for the United States is strong and solid – we have, as you know, the lowest unemployment rate in about 50 years, solid and continuous performance, low inflation "she said. "My personal point of view is that while we have long anticipated that growth will slow in 2019 compared to last year, it should reach about 3% or more"
Since the Fed began raising rates in December 2015, it has followed with seven more increases, with the federal funds rate now ranging from 2.25% to 2.5%. Fed officials in December had indicated that two more movements were likely in 2019, but have since retreated, recently expressing their desire to be "patient" before any further action.
Yellen said that if she had been asked for a forecast in December, as the Fed does every quarter, she would probably have done two for this year as well.
"But I would have had a very wide band of uncertainty around that," she said.
In addition to rising rates, Yellen helped organize the start of the downgrade. The plan was to allow a product capped product bonds to disappear each month while reinvesting the rest.
Yellen had stated that the process would be "like watching paint dry." However, market participants became less comfortable with the process, especially as financial conditions tightened. His successor, Jerome Powell, was recently criticized for describing runoff in December as "on autopilot".
Yellen said her badessment was supposed to be "rebaduring", but she thinks the current Fed needs to make it clear that it is carefully watching the process.
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