MNI BRIEF: Fed's Bowman Says Appropriate to Taper This Year

Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman said Thursday she is optimistic about growth of the U.S. economy despite some "noise in the data" such as last week's jobs figures, and signaled that she is likely to support pulling back on some of the central bank's extraordinary measures later this year.

"I certainly would agree that we have made great progress toward that "substantial progress" toward the price stability goal. In fact we've exceeded that to some degree, and I believe that we're very close toward our goal on maximum employment," she said at an American Bankers Association event. "It's important that we continue to watch the data, but I think that if the data comes in, as I expect that it will, that it will likely be appropriate for us to begin the process of scaling back or asset purchases this year."

Fed officials have said they are still debating the timing, pace, and composition of a taper.