Fed Returns to Jackson Hole for Annual August Policy Retreat

(Bloomberg) -- The Federal Reserve’s prestigious annual Jackson Hole policy symposium will be held in person this year, albeit in a modified form, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, which hosts the conference.

The yearly retreat of the world’s top central bankers and economists went virtual in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but will be back at its usual location in the Grand Teton National Park outside Jackson, Wyoming from Aug. 26-28.

“The event will adhere to all health and safety guidelines that are in place at the time of the program,” the Kansas City Fed said in a statement Thursday. “Closer to the event, we anticipate providing notice of keynote speeches that will be available to the public virtually, in real-time.”

The decision comes amid optimism the U.S. is on track to get life back to a more normal footing thanks to an accelerating vaccination program that has fully inoculated 40% of the population, according to Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker.

Jackson Hole is traditionally scrutinized for hints on upcoming Fed policy changes. It will be again this year, with attention on whether Chair Jerome Powell will make a speech and use the occasion to indicate that the U.S. economy has made “substantial further progress” on employment and inflation as a prelude to scaling back massive bond purchases -- assuming he’s not already delivered that signal.

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