Comments from Atlanta Fed President Lockhart:
- Lockhart says that the underlying fundamentals are strong enough to propel the economy along a growth path that delivers a bounce-back in the second quarter followed by a resumption of a pace of growth between 2.5 and 3 percent.
- Lockhart's confidence that growth will resume rests importantly on evidence of a pickup in consumer spending
- Lockhart will be looking at the upcoming April employment numbers and over the longer term for direct, confirming evidence that consumer spending is accelerating
- Since 2010, the first quarter has averaged 0.6 percent annualized growth while growth over the remainder of the year has averaged closer to 3 percent.
- Business sentiment seems to be positive and optimistic.
- What's up with the consumer? It's puzzling.
- Given the possibility of a major policy decision in the near term, you can be sure we will be watching the data intently and putting great effort into their interpretation.
- My confidence that growth will resume rests importantly on evidence that consumer spending is picking up
- Full speech
