Fed's Kaplan says sticking to 2% growth forecast for 2017

[WICHITA FALLS] Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan on Monday said he is sticking to his forecast for 2 per cent US economic growth next year, as it is too early to assess the effect of new economic policies under a Donald Trump presidency.

If a Trump administration delivers fiscal and other policies as investors are betting he will, that would give the Fed some room to manoeuvre, Mr Kaplan told reporters after an economic forum hosted by the Wichita Falls Chamber of Commerce.

But so far, the rise in yields that those expectations have driven do not affect his own expectations for Fed policy or for the economy.

"In the near future it would be appropriate for us to remove some accommodation," said Mr Kaplan, who has said he would have supported a rate increase at the last two Fed meetings.

REUTERS