Central Banks

Fed’s Williams Says Estimates Show ‘Low R-Star Regime Endures’

  • Policy decisions should not rely on r-star estimates, he says
  • Productivity impact from artificial intelligence not yet known
Fed's Williams Says 'Low R-Star Regime Endures'
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Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams, who has deeply researched the natural rate of interest known as r-star, pushed back against recent commentary that it has risen since the pandemic.

In remarks prepared for a panel discussion at the European Central Bank forum in Sintra, Portugal on Wednesday, Williams cited recent estimates that place r-star in the US and euro zone near to where they were before the outbreak of Covid-19.