At the time, annual consumer price inflation was running at 0.7 percent, the exchange rate was strong, and the economy had a negative output gap. It was not appropriate to raise interest rates, but the potential for further rapid house price inflation was considerable as sizeable supply-demand imbalances seemed likely to continue for several years.
One of the aspects of my job that I enjoy most is the opportunity to visit communities across the Ninth District. I have had the pleasure of traveling to each state in the district in my nearly two years as president, but this is my first trip to Bismarck in that time.