Fed speak suggests hike inevitable - Rabobank

Philip Marey, Senior US Strategist at Rabobank, notes that the four non-voting FOMC participants spoke yesterday.

Key Quotes

“Kaplan (Dallas Fed), who is considered a dove, was not the first to stress that a cautious approach does not mean standing still. He thinks that the FOMC will make another move in the not too distant future if GDP recovers in the way he expects. Harker (Philadelphia Fed), also a dove, said it would be prudent to wait until inflation data are stronger, which he expect to happen in the second half of the year. Williams (San Francisco Fed), who is more of a centrist, thinks that 2 to 3 rate hikes in 2016 are reasonable.

Finally, Lacker (Richmond Fed), a notorious hawk, said that recent signs that inflation is accelerating are a good reason to hike. In fact, it also turned out that Lacker and George had voted for a discount rate hike before the March meeting of the FOMC at which it was decided to leave the federal funds rate unchanged, with George dissenting.”