One more Fed official thinks QE3 will be tapered in 2013

The Federal Reserve could start tapering its $85 billion-a-month asset-purchase plan by the summer, said John Williams, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco on Wednesday.

When the Fed might begin tapering off quantitative easing has been a key question for markets since the Fed’s policy meeting in March, after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke indicated that was the likeliest course of action.

The Fed has said it would continue the purchase program until it sees “substantial” improvement in the labor market.

“Assuming my economic forecast holds true, I expect we will meet the test for substantial improvement in the outlook for the labor market by this summer. If that happens we could start tapering our purchases then,” Williams said in a speech to a business group in Los Angeles.

“If all goes as hoped, we could end the purchase program sometime late this year,” Williams added.

This is clearest timetable put forward by a top Fed official.

Williams compared Fed policy to driving a car up a long, steep hill. The Fed is pushing down hard on the gas pedal but once the road gets flatter- the Fed “will have to lighten up on the accelerator a bit.”

MarketWatch

This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds.

Mingze Wu

Mingze Wu

Currency Analyst at Market Pulse
Based in Singapore, Mingze Wu focuses on trading strategies and technical and fundamental analysis of major currency pairs. He has extensive trading experience across different asset classes and is well-versed in global market fundamentals. In addition to contributing articles to MarketPulseFX, Mingze centers on forex and macro-economic trends impacting the Asia Pacific region.
Mingze Wu