 | |  | | 2004-06-08 22:32
WASHINGTON (AFX) -- Federal Reserve rate hikes are likely to be measured,
but the central bank is "prepared to do what is required" to fight inflation,
Fed board chairman Alan Greenspan said Tuesday. The FOMC statement at their
last meeting in May said that Fed rate hikes would be measured. "That
conclusion is based on our current judgment of how economic and financial
forces will evolve in the months and quarters ahead," Greenspan said in a
speech prepared for delivery via satellite to the International Monetary
Conference in London. "Should that judgment prove misplaced, however, the
FOMC is prepared to do what is required to fulfill our obligations to achieve
the maintenance of price stability so as to ensure maximum sustainable
economic growth," he said. Businesses are becoming more confident about the
economy and are now hiring "with some vigor," Greenspan said. At the same
time, many new hires are temporary workers, an indication that "business
caution remains a feature of the economic landscape," he said. Recent
financial indicators, including rapid money growth, "underscore that the FOMC
has provided ample liquidity to the financial system that will become
increasingly unnecessary over time," he said. Financial markets appear
prepared for higher interest rates, unlike 1994, Greenspan said, "though
history cautions that investors' anticipations of the cumulative magnitude of
policy actions and their timing under such circumstances are far from perfect.
" U.S. treasury prices turned lower after Greenspan's comments. The benchmark
10-year note declined 9/32 to 99 19/32, while its yield rose to 4.80 percent
from Monday's close of 4.77 percent. Greenspan said that there has been a
return of pricing power to businesses and the threat of deflation has ended.
Core consumer inflation, as measured by the personal consumption expenditures
index, has increased, Greenspan noted. The core PCE is up 1.4 percent over
the last year ended in May, compared with a 0.8 percent annual increase in
December of last year. But he said cost pressures have been "relatively
subdued." The rise of energy prices is a "worrisome element" that has been a
net drain on the economy and could boost inflation if the high price level
persists. "The recent modest declines in oil and natural gas prices may or
may not signal a trend but are nonetheless welcome," Greenspan said. |  |  |  |  |
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