St. Louis Fed Head: "First Rate Increase Could Come Late in 1Q 2015"

From Real Time Economics:

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said Friday he believes that the central bank will start raising short-term interest rates at the end of the first quarter of next year.

“I’m more optimistic than most on [the Fed] as to the speed with which unemployment will drop. I also have inflation returning to normal faster than some of the others,” Mr. Bullard told reporters after a speech in Little Rock, Ark. When his upbeat views on the economy are weighed together, it means the Fed can begin to lift interest rates from near zero late in the first quarter of 2015, he said.

Most Fed officials have indicated they expect to start raising rates next year. Many market participants are expecting the first increase in mid-2015, or perhaps even later.

In his formal speech, Mr. Bullard indicated he was unfazed by the recent spate of weak economic data, including signs that the U.S. gross domestic product, or total output of goods and services, probably declined in the first three months of the year. And he expressed confidence the economy will pick up steam....MORE