Central Bank Should Weigh Asset Sales to Curb Inflation, Says Fed Official

A top Federal Reserve official said the central bank should consider selling bonds from its $9 trillion asset portfolio to address high inflation and guard against harmful effects that can result from raising short-term rates above long-term rates.

In an interview Friday, Kansas City Fed President Esther George said one drawback of expanding the Fed’s asset portfolio to stimulate the economy in downturns, a process sometimes called quantitative easing, is that officials may now face more complications in removing stimulus by using two policy tools—interest rates and the bond portfolio.