Comments from Cleveland Fed President Mester on CNBC
- My view is that we have to take into account financial markets when we set policy
- Risks are balanced. There are certainly some upside risks (cites tax changes)
- For downside, cites trade and geopolitics
- 'Symmetrical' is in our long-term view, it's just a reminder
- The Fed isn't concerned by short-term misses on inflation, it's about sustained misses
- 2% is not a ceiling, it might go above or below for 'a little bit'
- Near-term readings on inflation will likely go above 2% because of transitory influences but we have to look through those factors
- 3-4 hikes is gradual
Nothing particularly notable. Mester is a hawk and those aren't especially hawkish (or dovish).