Fed's Bullard: Current level of the policy rate is appropriate

Key highlights from Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard speech titled “The Path Forward for U.S. Monetary Policy in a Global Context” on Thursday during the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum’s City Lecture:

• Given that the U.S. economy remains in a low-growth, low-inflation, low-interest-rate regime, the current level of the policy rate (i.e., the federal funds rate target) is appropriate
• The most likely outcome over the forecast horizon is that the regime persists and, hence, the current level of the policy rate remains appropriate
• Many future developments could impact this policy path, but the Fed does not need to act pre-emptively with respect to any of them
• Real GDP growth suggest some improvement from the first quarter, but not enough to move the U.S. economy away from a regime characterized by 2 percent trend growth
• Recent inflation data have surprised to the downside and call into question the idea that U.S. inflation is reliably returning toward target