Fed's Harker supports keeping interest rate policy stable

Odaily News Fed official Harker expressed optimism about the state of the U.S. economy and said he sees no reason to change interest rate policy at this time as the Fed continues to work to reduce inflation levels. Harker said current data shows that the U.S. economy will continue to operate at a strong pace. Inflation remains high, but it appears likely to ease over time amid resilient economic growth and a balanced job market, which are sufficient reasons to keep the policy rate stable. He expects inflationary pressures to continue to weaken and return to the 2% target in the next few years, and said: "While I will not commit to a specific timetable, I remain optimistic that inflation will continue to decline and that the policy rate will be able to fall in the long run." (Jinshi)