PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- Two U.S. Federal Reserve bank presidents both suggested they aren't favoring an additional interest rate cut at the next policy meeting in December.
Fed watchers were listening to remarks made by Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser and Chicago Fed President Charles Evans to see whether the two were softening their stance on further cuts to counter he continued strain in credit markets, MarketWatch reported Tuesday.
In a speech at the University of Rochester, Plosser said the Fed cannot resolve the cause of tension in financial markets, or issues surrounding subprime rates and other mortgage instruments.
"The markets will have to figure this out," Plosser said in prepared remarks. "Arbitrarily lowering interest rates or providing liquidity to the market does not provide the answers the market seeks."
Evans, too, said he is content with current policy, MarketWatch said.
"As of today, I feel that the stance of monetary policy is consistent with achieving our dual mandate objectives and will help promote well-functioning financial markets," Evans said.
Minutes from the October meeting in which the Fed cut the interest rate by a quarter-percentage point showed seven banks originally favored holding the discount rate steady while five favored another easing.
