john c williams : moving toward " normal " us monetary policy remarks by mr john c williams, president and chief executive officer of the federal reserve bank of new york, at the joint bank indonesia - federal reserve bank of new york central banking forum, nusa dua, indonesia, 10 october 2018. * * * thank you and good morning. it ’ s a pleasure to speak at the central banking forum coorganized by bank indonesia and the federal reserve bank of new york. this is our second joint conference, and i am very much looking forward to the exchange of ideas and views on important economic issues affecting our regions. at the outset, i would like to thank governor perry and bank indonesia for their leadership and support in sponsoring this conference, amid what i am sure has been a very busy time with the imf / world bank meetings. let me also say that our thoughts and hearts go out to everyone affected by the recent devastating earthquake and tsunami. in my remarks, i will focus on the outlook for u. s. monetary policy. the good news is that on the 10th anniversary of the worst days of the global financial crisis, the u. s. economy is doing very well. from the perspective of the fed ’ s dual mandate of maximum employment and price stability, quite honestly, this is about as good as it gets. as a result, the fed has naturally been moving toward more “ normal ” monetary policy. and that brings me to a theme of my remarks today : what does “ normal ” monetary policy look like going forward? before i say even one more word, i should stress that what i have to say represents my own views and not necessarily those of the federal open market committee ( fomc ) or anyone else in the federal reserve system. strong, strong, strong my view on the u. s. economy is well summarized by the most recent fomc statement, in which variations on the word “ strong ” appeared five times in describing the u. s. economy. 1 central bank communication can be difficult at times, but, at least in this case, our message is very clear. indeed, the federal reserve has attained its dual mandate objectives of maximum employment and price stability about as well as it ever has. most indicators point to a very strong labor market — including an unemployment rate of 3. 7 percent — and inflation is right on target. with fiscal stimulus and favorable financial conditions providing tailwinds to the u. s. economy, the outlook

view the u. s. economy and our policy actions in isolation from global economic and financial developments. far from it. in today ’ s highly interconnected global economy and financial system, international developments affect the u. s. economy, and our policy actions in turn impact the rest of the world. therefore, we devote considerable effort to monitoring and analysis of developments around the world to understand how our actions affect the global economy and indirectly feed back to our own economy. these considerations play an important role in my thinking about the economic outlook and the appropriate path for monetary policy, as well as how we best communicate our perspectives and plans. moreover, we actively engage with international counterparts in a range of forums, such as today ’ s. these exchanges help us understand economic and financial conditions affecting our respective regions and provide opportunities to share perspectives and insights. a key lesson about policy - making in an interconnected world is that transparency and open lines of communication are critical to minimizing misunderstanding, market disruption, and volatility that can interfere with our common goals of having strong and stable economies. as i have mentioned a number of times already, effective communication that provides clarity and predictability to our policy actions is a critical component of successful policy - making. conclusion monetary policy - making has perhaps never been more challenging than it was following the financial crisis. but, as we move toward more “ normal ” conduct of monetary policy, we must not rest easy. we will confront our own fair share of future challenges. the most important monetary policy challenge in the united states today is sustaining the long economic expansion 3 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches without allowing risks to grow that ultimately undermine economic prosperity. whatever the future may bring, i will be guided by our dual mandate, a heavy dependence on data, and a steadfast commitment to transparency. such an approach, in my view, will help support prosperity both in the united states and abroad. thank you. 1 see fomc statement and implementation note, september 26, 2018. 2 see fomc statement and implementation note, september 26, 2018. 3 see fomc statement and implementation note, september 26, 2018. 4 see jerome h. powell, monetary policy in a changing economy, august 24, 2018. 5 see fomc issues addendum to the policy normalization principles and plans, june 14, 2017. 6 see simon potter, confidence in the implementation of u. s. monetary policy normalization, august 4, 2018.