Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Master said Tuesday that the Fed may need to raise interest rates in 2019, but it is still possible to end the process of reducing its large-scale bond portfolio by the end of the year.
With uncertainties growing in the current economic outlook and the Federal Reserve trying to establish new guidelines for monetary policy, Meester's speech once again highlighted the complexity of the matter.
Meister, who has long supported interest rate hikes, also supported the deletion of policy statements at last month's Federal Reserve Policy Meeting that might guide the next policy action to raise or lower interest rates. On Tuesday, Meester said that the removal of interest rate guidelines was one of the Fed's efforts to shift to what she called a more "normal" policy.
Meanwhile, she still expects the U.S. economy to remain strong despite risks such as a global economic slowdown and U.S. -China trade negotiations.
"I think we may need to raise interest rates a little later this year," Meister told reporters in Newark, Delaware.
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