Fed's Bullard says economic boom to send jobless rate to 4% range

[WASHINGTON] The US economy is expected to see a boom that will send the unemployment rate into the 4 per cent range, a top Federal Reserve official said on Wednesday.

St Louis Fed President James Bullard said that it is always possible the economy could see a shock that hurts growth and kills the recovery. But the policy hawk said the US economy is expected to maintain 3 per cent growth in the medium term and that interest rates should reflect this.

"You want the rate path to be set appropriately for the coming boom period in the US economy," Mr Bullard said in remarks during a Hyman Minsky conference here. Earlier in his remarks he said now may be the time for the Fed to raise interest rates.

REUTERS