Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve chairman, offered the firmest timeline yet for tapering US central bank asset purchases, saying bond buying by the US central bank could be slowed this year and end altogether around the middle of next year.
In a statement following the latest meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, Mr Bernanke said it would be “appropriate to moderate the monthly pace of purchases later this year,” assuming the Fed’s expectations for an improved economic outlook held true.
He added that there would be “measured steps through the first half of next year” to slow asset purchases, which would end “around midyear”. Mr Bernanke also said the bond buying, which is running at a monthly rate of $85bn, could end once the unemployment rate fell below 7 per cent. It was 7.6 per cent in May.