Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard on Tuesday said she expects methodical interest rate increases and rapid reductions to the Fed’s balance sheet to bring U.S. monetary policy to a “more neutral position” later this year, with further tightening to follow as needed. “I think we can all absolutely agree inflation is too high and bringing inflation down is of paramount importance,” Brainard said at a conference at the Minneapolis Fed. To do so, she said, the Fed will raise rates “methodically” and as soon as next month begin to quickly ramp up reductions to its nearly $9 trillion balance sheet to a “considerably” more rapid pace of runoff than the last time the Fed shrank its holdings. The rapid portfolio reductions “will contribute to monetary policy tightening over and above the expected increases in the policy rate reflected in market pricing and the Committee’s Summary of Economic Projections,” she said. …