Of course, there are important differences in today’s conditions relative to these historical settings, including the economy’s cyclical position, current and projected levels of indebtedness, the relative position of the global economy, and monetary policy settings. As of today, there is substantial uncertainty about the magnitude, timing, and composition of any possible change in the stance of fiscal policy.
With monetary policy providing a significant degree of stimulus through our interest rate policy, stock of acquired assets and reinvestments of maturing bonds, the Governing Council assessed that inflation convergence could be maintained even after a gradual winding-down of our net asset purchases. Subject to incoming data confirming this assessment, we anticipate that net asset purchases will come to an end in December.