In response to a question about whether the decision to not refer to a rate hike “in coming months” in early June was a deliberate omission.
You know, we do need to make sure that there is sufficient momentum. I don't know what the timetable is going to be to gain that assurance.
Every meeting is live. There is no meeting that is off the table, no meeting is out in terms of a possible rate increase.
But we really need to look at the data. And I can't pre-specify a timetable. So, I'm not comfortable saying it's in the next meeting or two.
But it could be. It could be. It's not impossible. It's not impossible, I think by July, for example, that we would see data that led us to believe that we're on a perfectly fine course and that data was an aberration and other concerns would have passed.
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Look, if the incoming data were in the coming months to justify the kind of gradual increases that we have long discussed that we see is appropriate in light of the outlook, I think markets should not be surprised by such a decision if we make it, and it's obviously consistent with the data that we have seen. And the committee will feel free to move in the coming months if we think it's appropriate