US Dallas Federal Reserve Chairman Robert Kaplan (Robert Kaplan) said on Friday that he is closely monitoring any impact of the Delta variant of the coronavirus on the economy. If economic growth slows drastically, it may be necessary to “slightly” adjust his views on policies.

“The Delta variant is spreading rapidly,” Kaplan said. Kaplan has previously stated that he hopes the Federal Reserve will start to reduce the size of asset purchases in October.

“Until now, it (the Delta variant) has not had a substantial impact on consumer activities such as eating out,” he said, but “it has had an impact on returning to the office. The variant affected the ability to hire workers due to fears of being infected” and could affect output.

Kaplan added that one “huge economic variable” is the speed at which the US population is vaccinated against COVID-19, as well as wearing masks and other ways to prevent the virus.

Kaplan expects the PCE inflation rate to be 3.8%-3.9% at the end of 2021. He said that extreme inflation is likely to ease, and the PCE inflation rate is expected to be 2.5% in 2022.