Walsh: Impressed by overall economic performance

On 28 August, Federal Reserve Chairman Walsh stated that he was “enjoyed by the overall economic performance, which seems to have grown stronger”. He added: “An indicator of economic power is its performance under pressure and under shocks. In this regard, both the real economy and Wall Street have shown remarkable resilience.” He also stated that, given the current market interest rate and the Federal Reserve's constant short-term policy interest rate since December last year, “credit and loan markets show little evidence of policy constraints”, and that these statements could lay the groundwork for the argument that interest rates would rise in the face of continued inflation. Walsh stated that, despite pressures on certain sectors, such as housing and agriculture, he “can hardly describe the overall financial situation as restrictive”。