Fed’s Mester (hawkish, non-voter): supports starting to trim bond portfolio this year; supports further rate hikes but not at each meeting
- Fully supported raising rates in March; further interest rate hikes will be needed
- Economic expansion is sound; weak Q1 was only transitory
- Inflation has picked up over last year and is moving in the right direction
- Firmer inflation data, stable inflation expectations, labor market strength and economic growth supports return to 2% inflation