MNI BRIEF: Fed's Clarida Stresses Taper, Rate Hikes Separate

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Richard Clarida said Wednesday his baseline outlooks suggests that if economic data falls in line then he may support tapering purchases in meetings later this year, also stressing that the timing of asset purchases should not be seen as influencing the time for lifting benchmark short-term interest rates.

"If my baseline outlook does materialize, then I can certainly see supporting announcing a reduction in the pace of our purchases later this year," he said. "They're completely separate decisions, and I think the Committee deserves credit because we laid out specific conditions for lift off, and those are different. There's a different metric for lift off than there is a metric for reducing the pace of asset purchases."

Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan told MNI last month he saw the timing of taper not having an impact on the timing of decisions around raising the fed funds rate from zero.