“I would like Europe to grow faster, and for vaccine distribution to continue more smoothly.” This is what Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said in the press conference following the announcement on US rates by the FOMC, the monetary policy arm of the Fed. A lash at the EU, struggling with the decision of several countries to discontinue the Astrazeneca vaccine as a precaution. The judgment of Ema, the European pharmaceutical agency, is expected tomorrow.
The Federal Reserve, in communicating that it has left Treasury rates around zero, has updated its US GDP growth estimates: it now expects the economy to expand by 6.5% in 2021, compared to +4.2 % expected in the December 2020 meeting. This is what emerges from the Summary of Economic Projections published by the Fomc.
The US central bank led by Jerome Powell also revised its 2020 US GDP estimates upwards, from the + 3.2% previously expected to a growth rate of 3.3%.
Strong upward revision also for the US inflation rate of 2021, expected at 2.4%, well over the 1.8% expected last December. Also raise the forecasts for inflation measured by the PCE for 2022 and 2023.
Inflation represented by the core PCE is expected at 2.2% in 2021, against the + 1.8% expected in December. For 2022 the forecasts are for a core figure of 2% and for 2023 equal to 2.1%.
’d love to see Europe growing faster. I’d love to see the vaccine rollout going more smoothly.