KC Pres George, As Expected, Comes Out Hawkish

Not a big surprise to hear KC Fed Pres George calling for the Fed to dial back QE with "substantial further progress" already met, in her view. At a guess, she's probably been in favor of tapering sooner rather than later for some time, but she hasn't made public comments since May.

• She's not a 2021 FOMC voter, but she does vote in 2022 - so her comment "it is important to note the timing of the tapering of asset purchases is not mechanically connected to the timing of any policy rate adjustment" is of particular interest. That said, it's more likely than not she's in the 2022 hike camp.
• That George came out hawkish is not a market mover (she's about as hawkish as they come in our spectrum - see chart) - Treasuries barely budged on the comments.
• The question remains whether the core of the FOMC (mainly Powell, Williams and Brainard - Clarida is moving toward the center already) - will begin to change their tune on an earlier taper, as have many/most of the regional presidents.