Charles I. Plosser, president and chief executive of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, described the national economic recovery as “relatively slow but sustainable” in a speech Thursday in Rochester, N.Y.
However, he said that he would back a policy change if he saw proof the latest round of quantitative easing is not working. Plosser noted that estimates for the first asset-purchase plan’s interest-rate relief varied.
He said he is somewhat skeptical the U.S. economy will experience much stimulation from the new round of purchases.
“These purchases were done at a time when financial markets were highly disrupted and asset-risk premiums were extremely elevated,” Plosser said in an advance text of his speech.
“But markets are no longer disrupted, so we cannot expect the same effect this time,” he said.