Factbox-Ready to taper or waiting for more data? Recent Fed officials’ comments

September 24, 2021

(Reuters) – The Federal Reserve has said it will start to reduce its bond purchases as soon as November if the economy continues on its current track.

Some officials will watch the September jobs report, due Oct. 8, for a final bit of evidence that the labor market has achieved “substantial further progress” in its recovery. Others feel the benchmark has been met and are ready to start the process.

Following is a running tally of where officials have said they stand on the question since the Federal Open Market Committee’s Sept. 21-22 meeting. It will be updated as officials make their positions public.

READY TO ROLL ON TAPER:

LORETTA MESTER, PRESIDENT, CLEVELAND FED (non-voter in 2021/voter in 2022), Sept. 24:

“In my view, the economy has met those conditions, and I support starting to dial back our purchases in November and concluding them over the first half of next year.”

ESTHER GEORGE, PRESIDENT, KANSAS CITY FED (non-voter in 2021/voter in 2022), Sept 24:

“In my view, the criteria for substantial further progress have been met, with inflation running well above our target and the unemployment rate at 5.2%, down 1.5 percentage points relative to December. Under these conditions, the rationale for continuing to add to our asset holdings each month has waned, and signaling that we will soon consider bringing our asset purchases to an end is appropriate.”

WAITING ON SEPTEMBER EMPLOYMENT REPORT:

None as of the time of publication.

(Compiled by the U.S. economics team)

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