Fed‘s Harker says expects ’methodical‘ rate hikes to fight ’too high inflation

div classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodivpReuters – Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Patrick Harker on Thursday repeated his view that the U.S. central bank will deliver “a series of deliberate, methodical hikes” to interest rates this year to bring down widespread and “far too high” inflation. p

p“While the Fed cannot do much to ameliorate the supply issues that are increasing inflation, we can begin to affect demand,” Harker said in remarks prepared for delivery at Rider University in Lawrence Township, New Jersey. pdivdivdiv classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodiv

pThe speech reiterated Harkers recent views on the outlook and the effect of tighter monetary policy, which he said will help reduce economic growth this year to around 3.5 and to 2 to 2.5 in the next couple years. p

pInflation too “should begin to taper” this year, he said, ending 2022 at around 4 and over the next couple years falling to the Feds 2 target. p

pFed policymakers began raising rates last month with a quarterofapercentage point increase, and are expected to accelerate their pace of policy tightening when they next meet in May. p

pInterest rate futures traders currently expect the Fed to deliver halfpoint interest rate hikes at its next three meetings before returning to quarterpoint hikes for the last three meetings of the year. p

pThat would bring the Feds policy rate, now in the range of 0.25 to 0.5, to a range of 2.5 to 2.75 by the end of the year. p

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pp Reporting by Ann Saphir editing by Diane Craftp

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