William Poole, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, said there's no sign that the subprime-mortgage rout is harming the broader U.S. economy, and an interest-rate cut isn't yet needed. ``I don't see any impact as yet on the real economy or on the inflation rate,'' he said in an interview in the bank's boardroom. ``Obviously, there could be an impact, but we have to rely on some real evidence.''
Barring a ``calamity,'' there is no need to consider an emergency rate cut, Poole said. His comments were the first by a Fed official since the U.S. central bank joined counterparts in
Europe and Asia to inject emergency funds after a surge in money-market rates. The Fed has added $71 billion of reserves in the past five trading days.
Poole, 70, said businesses have maintained their hiring and investment plans and banks have sufficient capital to weather the credit-market turmoil. The St. Louis Fed chief stressed that the best course is for policy makers to assess the latest economic data when they next meet Sept. 18. The comments contrast with the certainty that traders put on a rate cut next month. ``If the data confirm the market's view that the economy is sagging, we'll have to decide whether to share that view,'' said Poole, who votes on the rate-setting Federal Open MarketCommittee this year. He cited the monthly jobs, retail sales and industrial production reports as key gauges he'll be watching.
As reported by Bloomberg News