- Dennis Lockhart, Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President
Ahead of the GDP report that is likely to show a contraction in economic output in the first quarter, Fed's officials are trying to calm down markets. Hence, Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Dennis Lockhart claimed he expects are rebound to a roughly 3% annual growth after a rocky start this year. During a speech at Louisiana State University's Graduate School of Banking Lockhart pointed out there was still ample slack in the key labour market and policymakers should be patient until the economy reached starts to develop at s sustainable pace and maintains full employment. In his own region he already has received reports from some companies saying conditions in some sectors of the economy and some trade have already amounted to full employment, while sectors even registered the shortage of workers, especially with necessary skills. However, he admitted that general situation in the country is patchwork, addressing huge number of workers that are ready to take on more shift or hours as the economy strengthens.
Despite the rosy outlook, Lockhart warned that the Fed should not rush to raise interest rates. According to his projections, the first rate hike will not be made until the second half of next year, and it will mean the beginning of normalization cycle that will be designed to prevent harm to the world's largest economy. The Federal Reserve has kept its benchmark interest rate at zero-level since late 2008.
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