For immediate release
Contact: Daneil Mazone, Media Relations, 215-574-7163
Philadelphia — A single rate hike for 2019 and one for the following year is the appropriate path of monetary policy in the view of Patrick T. Harker, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Saying that “patience is a virtue,” Harker shared his outlook with an audience of local business leaders.
Harker said that “with a temperate climate for inflation; continued strength in the labor market; very slight downside risks; solid, but moderate growth projections for the next couple of years; and, of course, a climate of uncertainty, I continue to be in wait-and-see mode.”
He noted, “As ever, that’s my current stance — my views will be guided by data as they come in and events as they unfold … We have to make policy decisions in context, and I’ve shared my outlook given the landscape on February 13, 2019. If we had a perfectly functioning crystal ball, those predictions would be infallible — and I’d be playing the lottery a lot more.”