Janet Yellen Tells Senate of Economic Progress, Challenges
Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen was in front of the Senate Banking Committee this morning, as she continued to show patience about raising interest rates. She noted the recent economic growth, and said there was still plenty of room for improvement.
“There has been important progress,” Yellen told the committee, according to The New York Times. “However, despite this improvement, too many Americans remain unemployed or underemployed, wage growth is still sluggish and inflation remains well below our longer-run objective.”
According to the account in The Times: “Some Fed officials expressed concern at the Fed’s most recent meeting in January about sluggish inflation and the decline of some measures of inflation expectations. Just as too much inflation can disrupt economic growth, so can too little. Until recently, the Fed has maintained an official view that the weakness is a temporary affair. Ms. Yellen said this was still true, ‘as best we can tell,’ but she acknowledged that some of the recent downturn may not reverse quickly.”
AIER will soon be issuing its own read on inflation, and other aspects of the economy in its February Business Conditions Monthly.
