Fed’s Lockhart wants to see higher inflation before taper

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Dennis Lockhart, who has backed record stimulus, said he wants to see inflation accelerate toward the Fed’s 2 percent goal before the central bank reduces $85 billion in monthly bond purchases.

“I’d like to see some movement toward the target” before tapering, Lockhart said today in a Bloomberg Radio interview with Kathleen Hays. Inflation is “stable but too low” and a move up would “give me some confidence we are not dealing with some downside scenario that might develop,” said Lockhart, who doesn’t vote on policy this year.