Question Over Fed’s Jackson Hole Conference With Venue Closed

(Bloomberg) -- A question mark has been placed against this year’s central banking symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming after the venue where the conference is held announced that it was closed for the season due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are considering the implications of this announcement for our annual Economic Symposium and will communicate additional details when they are available,” said Victoria Rosengarten, a spokeswoman for the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, which hosts the annual retreat.

The conference at the end of August at the Jackson Lake Lodge in the Grand Teton National Park is one of the highlights of the central banking calender and draws top policy makers and economists from around the world. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell was the keynote speaker last year, continuing a long-standing tradition, and the policy debate during the conference often sets the tone for monetary policy as investors return from their summer breaks.

A separate message from the operators of the lodge said that it would not open this season on the basis of newly-received guidance from the National Park Service, as well as continuing recommendations and ordinances from local and national public health authorities.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.