St. Louis Fed President Bullard Talks about U.S. Economy on Fox Business

April 1, 2020

In an interview on Fox Business, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard discussed estimates for the unemployment rate in the second quarter of this year as well as other perspectives on the U.S. economy.

Because the U.S. is intentionally trying to minimize instead of maximize economic output during the pandemic, “everything’s upside down in terms of interpreting the numbers,” Bullard said. But there are plenty of resources, including through a pandemic relief bill passed by Congress and actions taken by the Federal Reserve, to get the country through this special situation, he said.

In describing the economy during the pandemic adjustment period, he used the analogy of needing to put on the brakes when driving into a construction work zone on an interstate highway: “There’s nothing wrong with the car,” he said, “but you’ve got to slow way down.”

Bullard also spoke about the tools the Fed still could use, his outlook for a “boom” fourth quarter, and oil prices.

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