The president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York John Williams told CNBC on Friday that inflation is too high right now, and, in his view, the decision to accelerate the taper makes complete sense. The faster taper is really about creating optionality for next year, he added. Meanwhile, Williams noted that decisions on interest rates will depend on economic data.
The policymaker also said that the baseline outlook for 2022 is a very good one, and he sees the unemployment rate to drop to 3.5% at the end of the year. Hiking interest rates would be a positive sign about where we are in the economic cycle, he noted.