Will the Fed dare to mention tapering?
When Federal Reserve officials convene on Tuesday for their latest two-day monetary policy meeting, questions over whether the central bank should start talking about tapering its $120bn monthly bond-buying programme will lead the agenda.
Since the US central bank last met in late April, several senior Fed policymakers, including vice-chair Richard Clarida, have cracked the door more widely open for a discussion about eventually winding down the pace of those purchases, which include US Treasuries and agency mortgage-backed securities.
The recent comments align with those referenced in the latest Fed meeting minutes, which indicated that “a number of participants” believed it might be “appropriate at some point in upcoming meetings” to begin thinking about those plans if progress continued towards the central bank’s goals of a more inclusive recovery from the pandemic.