Fed’s Bullard Rules Out Return of 1970s Inflation Surge

President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, James Bullard, said on Thursday that the Fed policies are not expected to lead to a surge in inflation similar to what the United States saw in the 1970s, MarketWatch reported.

“That’s completely different from the inflation-targeting era that began in the 1990s and continues today.”

“So I have a hard time mapping anything that’s going on now back to what was happening in the 1970s.”

“No matter which of those three theories is your favorite as far as causes of inflation, all three are pointing to higher inflation in 2021,” Bullard said pointing to growth in money supply, higher fiscal deficits, and strong economic growth.

Bullard expects strong economic growth during the first quarter (Q1) of 2021 and sees the unemployment rate declining to 4.5% by the end of the year.

“I gave a rosy outlook today, but I would definitely want to see whether this materializes or not before getting into any adjustments to policy.”

“I just think we’re going to have to see the further progress before we even start that conversation.”