The coronavirus-related shutdowns in the US could cause prolonged economic damage, St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard told the Wall Street Journal.

Additional takeaways

"The trouble in the economy is mostly a second-quarter phenomenon. We’ll start to recover and get back to normal in H2 2020."

"The shutdown policy is a very blunt instrument, it’s a blanket policy, it’s a one-size-fits-all type of policy.”

"Too many problems will start to accrue if US economy is paused for too long; bankruptcies, business failures will rise."

"Eventually a far more granular, far more risk-based approach to operating the economy would be needed."

Market reaction

The US Dollar Index largely ignored these comments and was last seen posting small daily losses at 99.95.