TOKYO (MNI) – Federal Reserve Board Vice Chair Janet Yellen said on
Wednesday that the Fed must unwind asset purchases “in a timely way”
when the time comes in order to avoid inflationary pressures.
U.S. short-term and long-term interest rates will rise when the Fed
begins to normalize monetary policy by selling off financial assets that
it has bought as part of easing, she told an IMF/WB panel discussion on
sovereign risk, capital markets and financial stability.
Yellen said despite the large U.S. fiscal deficit, its government
debt is still considered a safe-haven asset.
Stronger U.S. economic growth will be “beneficial” for the entire
global economy, she said.
The Fed has succeeded in pushing down yields on Treasury notes
thanks to low interest rates and stable inflation expectations as well
as expectations that the Fed will keep very low rates for a long time
amid weak economic growth and high unemployment, said Yellen.
She acknowledged that lower interest rates compared to the rest of
the world put some pressure on exchange rates and then international
capital flows, making policymaking difficult for some emerging
economies, but that it is not the intention of the Fed or any other
central bank in advanced economies.
Economic growth differentials and a shift in risk aversion are more
important factors that could cause volatile capital flows, compared with
central bank quantitative easing and monetary policy differentials, she
said.
tkeditorial@marketnews.com
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