By Michael S. Derby 

Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard said Wednesday the U.S. central bank will continue to support the economy's recovery with aggressive policy actions for some time to come.

"We are strongly committed to achieving our maximum-employment and average inflation goals" and "it is too early to say how long it will take" to do that, Ms. Brainard said in the text of a speech prepared for a virtual appearance.

"The economy is far away from our goals in terms of both employment and inflation, and even under an optimistic outlook, it will take time to achieve substantial further progress" on getting hiring and inflation back to desired levels, Ms. Brainard said.

Given that outlook, "I expect that the current pace of purchases will remain appropriate for quite some time," she said, while noting that central bank policy will adjust its actions based on how the economy performs.

Ms. Brainard's remarks laid out her view on a key question now facing central bankers. With the economy recovering and vaccines coming on line to help put an end to the coronavirus pandemic, it has raised questions about the outlook for monetary policy.

Write to Michael S. Derby at michael.derby@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 13, 2021 13:14 ET (18:14 GMT)