“Broadly speaking, the prospects for continued economic expansion in 2018 look reasonably bright,” said William Dudley, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York at a SIFMA event on the economic outlook for 2018.
In the keynote speech, Mr. Dudley expressed optimism regarding the prospects for continued economic expansion in 2018. “The economy is likely to continue to grow at an above-trend pace, which should lead to a tighter labor market and faster wage growth. Under such conditions, I would expect the inflation rate to drift higher toward the FOMC’s two percent long-run objective.” This supports the case for raising interest rates. Mr. Dudley predicted U.S. GDP will rise 2.5 percent to 2.75 percent in 2018 because of robust consumer spending, low unemployment and a soaring stock market. This represents an increase from his earlier prediction. President Dudley was more cautious about the economic outlook in the longer term.
