(Reuters] – A new COVID-19 variation could make it more difficult for supply chains to cope with shortages and challenges that are causing higher inflation. Federal Reserve officials must consider that when withdrawing monetary policy support to the Federal Reserve, New York Fed President John Williams stated.

Williams stated that the Omicron version of COVID-19 adds “a lot of uncertainty” to the outlook during a Wednesday interview. This was in reference to Williams’ comments to Williams, which Williams made to The New York Times.

Williams stated that if the variant increases demand for goods or services in areas that have been experiencing shortages and slows down recovery efforts elsewhere, it could cause a slower overall rebound. Williams said that the variant could also increase inflationary pressures in “highly-demand” areas.

The Fed started reducing its purchase of Treasuries, mortgage-backed Securities and Treasuries from $120 billion per Month last month. This would allow it to wind down its bond-buying program in mid-2022.

Jerome Powell, Fed Chair, told the U.S. Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday that U.S. central banks policymakers will discuss whether or not to terminate that program at their December 14-15 meeting. This was a little earlier than expected.

Williams didn’t say whether or not he supported speeding up asset purchase tapering, but did note that Fed officials would have much to consider at the next meeting of their policy committee, which will include more data about inflation and employment, as well as the economic impact of Omicron.

It is a question of “Would it make economic sense to cancel those purchases a bit earlier than usual, perhaps by a few more months considering how strong the economy? Williams agreed. Williams said, “That’s an important decision. Discussion, I think we’ll need to wrestle with.”