Courtesy of Mish.
Dennis Lockhart, Atlanta Fed president, made a speech today trumping up the possibility rate hikes as soon as April.
In his speech, Lockhart cited “sufficient momentum evidenced by the economic data to justify a further step at one of the coming meetings, possibly as early as the meeting scheduled for end of April.”
Let’s dive into his speech and also put a spotlight on his claim of “sufficient momentum“.
Kaleidoscopic Context for Monetary Policy
The title of this post comes from the title of Lockhart’s speech to the Rotary Club of Savannah Kaleidoscopic Context for Monetary Policy.
Here are some snips, emphasis his, not mine. Typos not corrected.
An important question is whether to view the fourth quarter as a one-off aberration or a sign of slowing growth. Since we’re still in the first quarter of 2016, it’s a little early to come to a definitive conclusion. But we are able to gauge the strength of economic momentum in real time using a method we call a nowcast (as opposed to a forecast). A nowcast takes each data point as it comes in and adds it to a model-based computation of the growth rate of gross domestic product (GDP) on an annual basis. Such a computation is sometimes called a tracking estimate. The data we have in hand as input to this estimate run through January, with a few data points for February. Our tracking estimate for the first quarter is currently 1.9 percent.
Short of some big shock that turns consumer psychoIogy on its head, I see no reason why consumer spending growth should not continue. I think the conditions supporting this engine of economic momentum are likely to hold steady. I should add to the list the so-called “gasoline dividend.” Although slower than expected to show through in consumption patterns, lower oil prices and lower gasoline prices should bolster the economy through the consumer channel.
The incoming economic data have been, admittedly, mixed since the momentous December meeting of the FOMC (the meeting at which the Committee raised its policy rate for the first time in almost a decade). We policymakers face some ambiguity. In my experience, this is almost always the case. But overall, I see the recent data as positive. I believe a forecast of sustained moderate growth momentum is realistic and remains the likely scenario. In my opinion, there is sufficient momentum evidenced by the economic data to justify a further step at one of the coming meetings, possibly as early as the meeting scheduled for end of April.
Spotlight on Sufficient Momentum – Existing Home Sales
March 21: Existing Home Sales Plunge “Surprising” 7.1%, Price Concessions the Norm; What Happened?
