Fed's Wiliams: Fed should maintain bond buys, expected sharp rebound in 2021

The New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams said Thursday says a combination of strong fiscal support and continued vaccine distributions could help lift the US economy as it recovers from the coronavirus pandemic and lead to the strongest growth in decades,

"With strong federal fiscal support and continued progress on vaccination, GDP growth this year could be the strongest we’ve seen in decades,"

Still, the economy remains under threat from the pandemic, and new strains of the virus could slow the recovery or lead to more infections, Williams said, echoing remarks made by other Fed officials on Thursday.

Williams said the Fed will "remain committed to using our full range of tools to help assure that the recovery will be as robust as possible."

Key comments

• WILLIAMS SAYS HE IS MORE OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE MEDIUM-TERM OUTLOOK FOR THE ECONOMY
• 25-Feb-2021 14:00:00 - WILLIAMS SAYS HE EXPECTS UNDERLYING INFLATIONARY PRESSURES TO REMAIN SUBDUED FOR SOME TIME
• 25-Feb-2021 14:00:00 - WILLIAMS SAYS FED REMAINS COMMITTED TO USING FULL RANGE OF TOOLS TO ASSURE THAT THE RECOVERY WILL BE AS ROBUST AS POSSIBLE
• 25-Feb-2021 14:00:00 - WILLIAMS SAYS THE EMERGENCE OF NEW STRAINS OF THE VIRUS COULD SLOW THE PATH TO A POST-COVID WORLD
• 25-Feb-2021 14:00:00 - NY FED'S WILLIAMS SAYS GDP GROWTH THIS YEAR COULD BE THE STRONGEST IN DECADES WITH STRONG FISCAL SUPPORT AND CONTINUED PROGRESS ON VACCINATION
• 25-Feb-2021 14:00:00 - WILLIAMS SAYS FURTHER CLOSING THE UNEMPLOYMENT GAP BETWEEN BLACK AND WHITE WORKERS WILL BE AN IMPORTANT PART OF A FULL RECOVERY