Fed's Bullard: Fed Policy to Stay 'Easy' for 'Long Time'

The Federal Reserve's "very aggressive" easy money policy is going to stay that way for a "long time," St. Louis Fed President James Bullard told CNBC on Friday.

"This is a monetary policy that packs a punch," said Bullard, who's a voting member on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).

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Uncertainty about the future of the central bank's bond buying program has weighed on the stock market in recent days. (Read More Below the Video.)

Fed's Bullard: This is Monetary Policy That 'Packs a Punc...James Bullard, president of St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank, says Fed policy will remain easy for a long time. "We are looking for improvements in labor markets," he says.

But the St. Louis Fed president said in Friday's "Squawk Box" interview, "I think policy is much easier than it was last year because the outright purchases are more potent tool than the 'Twist' program was ... I don't think markets have fully absorbed that switch."

Bullard added, "Fed policy is very easy and it's going stay easy for a long time."

On Wednesday, the FOMC released minutes of its January meeting, which said "many participants" expressed concerns about "potential costs and risks arising from further asset purchases."

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"It's true that the committee is thinking about how are we going to handle this later this year," Bullard admitted. "But that's a natural thing for the committee to be talking about."

As for the economy, "The amount of global economic uncertainty is way down from where it was last year," he said, adding that first- quarter economic growth looks to be tracking at about 2.5 percent, following the negative reading in the fourth quarter.

For the year, Bullard predicted gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 3.0 percent.


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