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"We've had two months in a row where we've created more than
900,000 jobs and the unemployment rate dropped by half a percent
to 5.4%," Rosengren said during an interview with CNBC. "If we
get another strong labor market report, I think that I would be
supportive of announcing in September that we are ready to start
the taper program."
Fed officials said in December that they would continue
purchasing assets at the current pace of $120 billion a month
until there is "substantial further progress" toward the central
bank's goals for inflation and employment.
Rosengren said he believed the standard was already met for
inflation, which is running slightly above the Fed's 2% target.
The policymaker repeated his view that he would support reducing
the purchases of mortgage-backed securities and Treasury
securities by equal amounts. He said the program should be
completed by the middle of next year.
Rosengren, who will become a voting member of the Fed's policy
setting committee next year, said the economy is not yet at full
employment, one of the criteria for raising interest rates from
today's near zero levels.
He also said that while he expects to see inflation above 2%
next year, officials will have to wait to see if those forecasts
turn out to be true.
Rosengren said the Delta variant of the coronavirus is unlikely
to lead to the widespread shutdowns seen early on in the
pandemic because many people are now vaccinated.
But it could be problematic if some people become nervous about
traveling or going to restaurants - activities that contributed
to employment growth in the service sector this summer, he said.
(Reporting by Jonnelle Marte, Editing by Richard Pullin)
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