Bullard Talks with The Economist about Inflation, U.S. Economy Growth
May 25, 2022
St. Louis Fed President Jim Bullard discussed the Fed’s approach to raising rates to help manage inflation and what he anticipates for U.S. economic growth, during a podcast for The Economist.
Bullard repeated that 50-basis-point rises in the Fed’s policy rate are a good plan for now, depending on how economic conditions evolve. He also said a recession didn’t seem very likely based on the current data.
“I don’t really see a recession as the base case. Of course, we always face recession risk, and it is possible that we get a further shock and that we go into recession,” he said in an interview recorded May 20. “But right now, you’ve got the economy growing at two and a half to 3%. Even with everything that’s happened so far this year, most forecasts are two and a half to 3% for the U.S. economy for all of 2022.”