Unfazed by Omicron, Fed Policymakers Show Greater Consensus for Faster Taper

Unfazed by Omicron, Fed Policymakers Show Greater Consensus for Faster Taper
President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Raphael W. Bostic speaks at a European Financial Forum event in Dublin, Ireland, on Feb. 13, 2019. Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters
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Federal Reserve policymakers on Thursday sounded sanguine about the economic impact of the latest COVID-19 variant, but flagged rising inflation in remarks that suggested growing consensus for an earlier end to bond buys and, perhaps, earlier interest rate hikes next year.

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic told the Reuters Next conference on Thursday it would be appropriate to end the central bank’s bond-buying program by the end of March to allow the Fed to raise rates to deal with inflation.