WASHINGTON (Reuters) – There is nothing to suggest that negative interest rates would be a suitable option for the United States, Richmond Federal Reserve president Thomas Barkin said on Thursday.
“I think negative interest rates have been tried in other places and I haven’t seen anything personally that makes me think they are worth a try here,” Barkin said in an interview with broadcaster CNBC, repeating a view he has consistently held.
Markets began pricing in a negative U.S. rate environment for the first time earlier on Thursday, even though Fed officials including Chairman Jerome Powell have said they do not see negative rates as appropriate in the United States.
(Reporting by Lindsay Dunsmuir; Editing by Chris Reese)
