Fed Isn’t on Brink of QE3 With 2013 Rate Promise, Bullard Says

St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard, who was the first Fed policy maker to urge the round of bond purchases that started last year, said the central bank isn’t signaling a third stimulus program with its commitment to keep rates near zero through mid-2013.

“The most likely outcome for the U.S. economy is still that the economy continues to grow at a moderate pace through the second half of the year,” Bullard said late yesterday in a telephone interview. “If the economy is substantially weaker than expected, we could take more action, especially if it was coupled with a renewed deflation risk.”