Exclusive-Fed’s Miran says he is not focused on asset price boom in push for lower rates

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By Jamie McGeever

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran on Thursday said he was not concerned that easing monetary policy risks further inflating historically — and in some cases record-high — asset prices. 

“When I think about the financial condition that matters most in terms of the real economy it’s going to be ones related to housing, and those look a lot less easy,” Miran told Reuters on the sidelines of an Institute of International Finance meeting. “There are people who are concerned about that (asset price boom). I’m focused on inflation and maximum employment.” 

Miran has been pushing for steep rate cuts since he joined the Fed last month, arguing that the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown has reduced U.S. population growth and will drive down housing inflation, creating space for the central bank to lower interest rates.

“There’s a lot of things that drive asset prices,” Miran said. “Monetary policy is one of them, but also changes to fiscal policy, regulatory policy, global scenarios – there’s a lot of things that drive them.” 

Miran, who plans to return to his job as chief White House economist when his term at the Fed ends early next year, wanted a half-of-a-percentage point interest-rate cut at last month’s Fed meeting, and advocates similar big moves at upcoming meetings. Other Fed officials see a need for smaller interest-rate cuts to prevent the labor market weakening, a concern that Miran did not highlight in his remarks.

The Fed next meets October 28-29 and is widely expected to reduce the policy rate by a quarter of a percentage point to a range of 3.75%-4.00%.

(Reporting by Jamie McGeever; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama )