President’s perspective

On asset purchases

“We should gently ease off the accelerator so we don’t have to press on the brakes down the road.”

Interview with CNBC—May 27, 2021

On the labor market

“We wish to suggest that policymakers should be cognizant of a range of supply factors that may currently be weighing on employment. These factors may not be particularly susceptible to monetary policy.”

“We would expect that many of these factors will fade as the year progresses—increasing the number of job seekers and potentially reducing labor market tightness. However, it is also possible that labor supply will increase less than expected. It is our view that this possibility should be kept in mind as policymakers assess the appropriate stance of monetary policy.”

Excerpt from “The Labor Market May Be Tighter than the Level of Employment Suggests,” Dallas Fed Economics—May 27, 2021

On inflation expectations

“What you don’t know, depending on how long [heightened inflation] goes on, is whether that starts to get embedded in inflation expectations. And you worry that inflation expectations start to get to be more elevated. And then you are getting them elevated to a level that is not consistent with anchoring them at 2 percent. That’s the part I’m concerned about; this is a risk for me.”

Virtual event with the University of Texas McCombs School of Business—May 14, 2021