John Williams, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, speaks during the Central Banking Forum on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group Annual Meetings in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, on Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2018.
SeongJoon Cho | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The Federal Reserve will have to see a substantial change in economic conditions before making any changes to its monetary policy stance, New York Fed President John Williams said Wednesday.
“Monetary policy is in a good place,” he spoke with CNBC’s Steve Liesman. “But, as we’ve proven in the past, if economic conditions shift, change in a material way … obviously we’re ready to adjust our policy views accordingly.”
The Fed cut rates three times this year in a near-complete reversal of its 2018 policy moves. Last year, the central bank hiked rates four times. The last rate hike of 2018 added fuel to a massive year-end sell-off in the stock market.
At its most recent meeting, which took place a week ago, the Fed set a high bar for further rate cuts and an even higher one to kick off another tightening cycle. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said last Wednesday he wants to see persistently higher inflation before hiking rates again.
U.S. inflation has remained stubbornly below the Fed’s 2% goal. The core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index — the central bank’s preferred inflation measure — rose just 1.6% in October on a year-over-year basis.
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