Fed July rate hold was ‘absolutely’ right, Kaplan says
Goldman Sachs Vice Chairman Rob Kaplan has backed the Federal Reserves 9–3 decision to hold interest rates at 3.50%–3.75% in July while urging policymakers to keep their options open before September. Why Kaplan supports the Feds July rate hold Bloomberg reported that Kaplan, a former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, described the decision not to raise rates in July as “absolutely” correct because officials still have time to study inflation and economic activity before their next meeting. “If I see meaningful improvement, I might be willing to stay put, but I want to make full use of every moment before September to make judgments, avoiding rigidity or preconceived notions,” Kaplan said. Serving as Goldman Sachs vice chairman, Kaplan also sits on the banks management committee. His comments represent his assessment of monetary policy and should not be treated as a formal Federal Reserve position because he is no longer a policymaker. The Federal Open Market Committee voted 9–3 on July 29 to maintain its target range at 3.50%–3.75%. Presidents of the Cleveland, Dallas, and Minneapolis regional Fed banks preferred a 25-basis-point increase, according to the July rate decision previously covered by crypto.news. Before the announcement, markets had assigned roughly a one-in-three probability to
