Fed’s Bostic: We should be considering how fast we execute the taper

Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic said on Monday night interview on Bloomberg TV that faster taper would give us more optionality but added that we still have a covid economy, as reported by Reuters.

Key quotes

On Powell reappointment, says takes uncertainty out of the Fed, which is helpful.

Biden made a 'fine choice' in Powell and Brainard.

Has no trips to Washington on my calendar.

Asked if he would be open to one of the board openings, says those decisions are out of his hands.

We should be considering how fast we execute the taper.

On the inflation side expects the numbers to continue coming in strong.

Could be open to pulling forward another rate hike if appropriate in his dot plot for 2022 but also open to pushing them back too depending on how pandemic plays out.

Asked about supply chain constraints, says contacts still do not expect them resolved before summer of 2022 or later.

Hearing a lot about shortages of truckers.

Longer-run inflation expectations remain anchored, suggesting no erosion in confidence in the fed's approach.

Not convinced we need to have pre-pandemic employment levels to be considered maximum employment.

Market reaction

Given the mixed comments and mildly bid Wall Street benchmarks, S&P 500 Futures print 0.14% intraday gains following the comments from the Fed official. That said, gold prices paused corrective pullback around $1,809 at the latest.

Read: Gold Price Forecast: XAU/USD bears eye $1,790 as yields cheer Fed Chair nomination