off-the-wire

Fed's Musalem: policy uncertainty has 'meaningful' impact on economic outlook

Kitco Media
By Reuters
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Reuters
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May 20 (Reuters) - High uncertainty over the Trump administration's trade and other policies could slow the economy significantly as households and businesses put spending and investment decisions on hold while they wait for more clarity, St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank president Alberto Musalem said on Monday.

"To the extent that the economy requires capital expenditure to continue to occur, that it requires hiring to continue to occur, and if all those decisions have been somewhat paused because of the uncertainty, it would affect the economic outlook I would expect," Musalem said in Minneapolis. "I don't want to give a precise number estimate, but I would say it tends to be a pretty meaningful impact."

Reporting by Ann Saphir

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