Fed’s Bullard says rate cuts possible if coronavirus becomes global pandemic

St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said the coronavirus may temporarily slow global economic growth, but that the Federal Open Market Committee is in a good position because of previous policy rate cuts designed to insure the U.S. economy against adverse shocks. “Longer-term U.S. interest rates have been driven lower by a global flight to safety, likely benefiting the U.S. economy,” he said during a presentation to the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce in Fort Smith, Arkansas. He added, “Further policy rate cuts are a possibility if a global pandemic actually develops with health effects approaching the scale of ordinary influenza, but this is not the baseline case at this time.”