Powell Reiterates Time is Not Now to Talk Tapering

Q: Why aren't you thinking about thinking of tapering?

- A: It's not more complicated than this. We articulated the substantial further progress test at our December meeting. For the next couple months we made relatively little progress toward our goals. Remember, "substantial further progress" from our December meeting. And then vaccinations started to get more wide spread. The economy reopened. We got a nice job report for March.

• It doesn't constitute substantial further progress. It's not close to substantial further progress. We're hopeful we'll see a path to that goal. We believe we will. It's a question of when. When the time comes for us to talk about talk being about it, we'll do that. The time is not now. We've had one great jobs report. It's not enough. We're going to act on actual data, not on forecasts. We're going to see more data. It's no more complicated than that.
• If we bought less, I think the effect is proportional to the amount we buy. It's really part of overall accommodative financial conditions. We've tried to create accommodative financial conditions to support activity and we did that. We articulated the tests for withdrawing that accommodation. We think -- so we're waiting to see those tests to be fulfilled both for asset purchases and for lift off of rates.
• RE tapering - when the tests are fulfilled, we'll go ahead. We've done this before. We did it after the last crisis. We'll do it as those tests are satisfied. And the only thing that will guide us is, are the tests met? That's what we are focused on, have the macroeconomic conditions we've articulated been realized for tapering asset purchases and for raising interest rates?
• Q&A concludes.