It didn’t seem too long ago when the Federal Reserve was decidedly hawkish on their stance in September’s rate hike, but key Fed officials as of late have been showing dashes of dovish sentiment–a possible sign that the central bank is getting cold feet with respect to their rate-hiking policy?
Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams is keen to sticking with hiking rates–somewhat.
“We’ll be likely raising interest rates somewhat but it’s really in the context of a very strong economy,” Williams said at a community event in New York on Monday. “We’re not on a preset course. We’ll adjust how we do monetary policy to do our best to keep this economy going strong with low inflation.”
Meanwhile, Fed Vice Chair Richard Clarida was recently on a CNBC segment stating that signs of slowing are beginning to materialize in the global economy.
“There’s a bit of a walk back in progress,” said Don Rissmiller, chief economist at Strategas Research. “I’m sure they’re looking at financial conditions.”
It isn’t just the comments themselves as some analysts are noting that the timing of the latest comments come just a month away from December’s interest rate announcement.
“The market is perceiving them as being more dovish…It’s a small pivot because they’re acknowledging the idea that when you get closer to the end of a hiking cycle you have to feel your way through. You want flexibility. It doesn’t mean they have to stop soon,” said George Goncalves, head of fixed income strategy at Nomura.
Related: Jim Cramer: Markets in ‘One of the Worst Times in a Long Time’ as Yields Rise, Stocks Fall