Speaking in SF

He adds:

  • Tax cuts will clearly provide boost to growth
  • Shift also seen in global environment
  • Seeing convergence in global economy, more positive
  • Sees US unemployment falling to 3.7% late this year
  • Financial conditions, confidence is a 3rd tailwind for US economic growth
  • Low inflation is the good news, expects inflation to move back to 2% in next 2 years
  • Sees GDP of 2.25% – 2.5% this year
  • Says Fed needs to get monetary policy back to normal
  • Fed is not ahead or behind the curve, well-positioned to keep economy unsustainable path
  • Incoming chair Powell is about continuity, carry forth policies under chair Yellen
  • This is a time of change at the Fed, an institution that does not like change

Williams is a voting member on the 2018 FOMC. There is a little wiggle to the upside in the US dollar off the comments.

The USDCHF is trading at new session highs. The EURUSD has dipped back toward the session lows (traded to 1.22185).