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Fed's Harker: Fed policy is going to hold steady for now

Increased COVID-19 vaccinations, falling case rates and fiscal stimulus should stoke the US economic growth in the remainder of the year, Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker said on Tuesday, as reported by Reuters.

Additional takeaways

"US GDP could grow by 7% this year before moderating to 3% growth next year."

"Hesitancy of some people to get vaccinated and the possibility of new coronavirus variants present downside risks."

"Fed policy is going to hold steady for now."

"Extremely disappointing April jobs report probably an outlier given strong fundamentals."

"Expecting labor force to return to pre-pandemic trend sometime next summer."

"There is some upside risk to increased inflation, Fed will monitor closely."

"Forecasting 2.3% headline inflation for 2021, with core inflation at 2%."

Market reaction

These comments don't seem to be having a significant impact on the greenback's performance against its rivals. As of writing, the US Dollar Index down 0.18% on a daily basis at 90.11.

Author

Eren Sengezer

As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.

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