Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said “the economic data is very ugly reflecting the shutdown in the activity, furloughs and layoffs,” due to coronavirus pandemic. “Fed is working to help markets function and support businesses so they can be ready when economy reopen”, She said. “It will take some time for the economy to pick back up and the Fed is trying to limit the economic damage.”
Mester also support the idea of reopening the economy in stages. She emphasized, “no one wants to go backwards. Everyone wants to kind of get back to work but everyone realizes that how you do that really has to be done very carefully.”
Separately, New York Fed President John Williams said there will be “a lot of economic pain” and “that’s likely to continue for some time”. He added, “I still think we’ve got some tough days ahead and that’s why we’re working so hard to support the economy during this period.”
