Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester told Bloomberg TV, “making the taper faster is definitely buying insurance and optionality so that if inflation doesn’t move back down significantly next year we’re in a position to be able hike if we have to.”
She said that recent data “have come in supportive of that case, so I’m very open to considering a faster pace of tapering.”
“Right now, with the inflation data the way it is and with the job market as strong as it is, I do think that we have to be in a position that if we need to raise rates a couple of times next year we’re able to do that,” said Mester.
