NY Federal Reserve’s Bill Dudley: Interest rate hike in September is now less compelling
To hike or not to hike? That is the question.
Bill Dudley, chair of the New York Federal Reserve, has suggested the interest rate rise we all thought was coming in September is now "less compelling", thanks to the market volatility which has caused equities to swing wildly over the past few days.
Read more: US markets higher as FTSE dips
During a speech in New York, Dudley – a former Goldman Sachs economist – said it was "important not to over-react to global market turmoil", but added that the Fed's decision will be "data dependent", ie. the Federal Open Markets Committee will keep a close eye on how US markets react to the slowdown in China before making a decision.
He's the first senior Federal Reserve governor to speak since this week's turmoil began, so his speech was closely monitored by investors. So far today, US markets have been just as turbulent as yesterday, with the S&P 500 opening higher, before dipping and then settling 1.7 per cent higher in mid-morning trading. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones opened about two per cent higher, then inching down to 1.7 per cent higher.
Dudley added he "hoped" rates will be raised before the end of the year.
"[But] let's see how the data unfold before we make statements about when that might occur," he added.