HARTFORD, Conn. -- Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Roger Ferguson said Friday there is no set formula in which to decide monetary policy in the United States.
In a speech at the University of Connecticut in Hartford, Ferguson said that policymakers must monitor economic conditions and data carefully to find a so-called equilibrium real federal funds rate.
Specifically, Ferguson pointed to the still-sluggish job market, low household savings rates, and big government budget deficits "that implied the need to remove some fiscal stimulus."
"I believe that the combined force of these three factors restraining aggregate demand ... would require a lower real rate than otherwise to avoid economic slack," he said.
The next Federal Open Market Committee meeting will be held Nov. 10.
