Comments from Chicago Fed President Evans:
- Sees 2.5% growth this year, 3-4% next year
- US growth should be self-sustaining in 2 years
- Economy performing pretty well now
- Recent economic data have been a little mixed
- Confident the Fed has the right accommodation in place
- Labor market is improving
- Consumer spending has been very good
- If not for fiscal drag, growth would be closer to 3.5% this year
No change in rhetoric from Evans although his upbeat comments on the economy show that he is definitely moving toward less easing, so it’s US dollar positive.
If Bernanke strikes a similar tone Wednesday (which is altogether possible) the US dollar would have further room to run. I think the earlier spat of US dollar weakness was on fears of dovish comments but that might unwind now.
