Vitor Constâncio: Comments on “Monetary policy today - sixteen questions and about twelve answers” by Alan Blinder Comments by Mr Vitor Constâncio, Governor of the Bank of Portugal, at the conference on “Central Banks in the 21st Century”, hosted by the Bank of Spain, Madrid, 8 June 2006.
Since December, the Committee’s postmeeting statement has indicated that its current target range for the federal funds rate, 0 to 1/4 percent, will be appropriate “at least as long as the unemployment rate remains above 6–1/2 percent, inflation between one and two years ahead is projected to be no more than a half percentage point above the Committee’s 2 percent longer-run goal, and longer-term inflation expectations continue to be well anchored.” This guidance underscores the Committee’s intention to maintain highly accommodative monetary policy as long as needed to support continued progress toward maximum employment and price stability.