Fed’s Harker: Supportive of moving toward a tapering process sooner rather than later

“I am supportive of moving toward a tapering process sooner rather than later. When exactly that happens, the committee needs to decide. I would hope sometime this year we would be able to start the tapering process,” told Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick Harker in a Nikkei interview, per Reuters.

Asked about whether the Fed will announce any rate hike or tapering during next week’s meeting, Fed’s Harker said, “That has not been decided, and I'd rather not comment on that.”

The policymaker also forecasts late '22 or early 2023 for rate hikes while also saying, “I do have some concern that the risks to higher inflation than we expect are elevated, and so I would like to leave open the option of a rate increase. But again, that depends on the state of the economy.”

Market reaction

The news fails to underpin the US dollar strength as market sentiment remains mildly positive amid a sluggish session.