U.S. monetary policymakers have given no indication that they will stop raising interest rates any time soon, says independent research firm BCA Research.

“A flurry of speeches by Fed officials in the past two days have confirmed the message delivered at the September 20 FOMC meeting: the reduction in growth caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita will be temporary and the Fed must continue to tighten monetary policy,” the firm observes in a research note.

“While policymakers have acknowledged that growth will suffer in the third and fourth quarter, this will be offset in the subsequent periods by efforts to rebuild the affected areas,” it notes. “Moreover, officials remain unconvinced that higher energy prices won’t be passed through into core inflation.”

And, it points out that, “the effect of the hurricanes has been completely erased from money market futures prices. Fed rate hike expectations are back above the level in place before Katrina hit.”