(CNBC.com) — U.S. Federal Reserve officials said on Tuesday the economy is operating well below full capacity and full recovery is a way off, in comments suggesting no urgency to begin tightening financial conditions.
“The pain is still with many of us to be sure, and we are a long way from a full recovery,” Richmond Federal Reserve Bank Jeffrey Lacker told a regional Fed forum.
Lacker, known to be one of the more aggressive anti-inflation hawks among policy-makers, said there were signs of stabilization in housing markets, but overbuilding means that sector won’t help lift the recovery.