The Fed's Time Is Running Out for a Timely Taper
The central bank should start pulling back on its $120 billion monthly bond purchases and signal when it will lift rates, but it probably won’t.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell needs to slow the QE train.
Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg
It has been only 17 months since the biggest unthinkable in the oil market — the price turning negative — illustrated vividly that the global economy was experiencing an unprecedented shock that required an exceptional policy response by the government and the Federal Reserve. This week, Fed policy makers will discuss how to unwind two of its three chief components over time.
The oil unthinkable was the result of the collapse in demand that accompanied the first stages of the 2020 Covid-19 economic shock. Stranded by storage facilities that were either full or extremely expensive, holders of oil scrambled to liquidate their excess supply, with some even willing to pay buyers to take it off their hands.