Two US Federal Reserve policymakers on Tuesday said that the central bank has kept pace with a planned move to reduce its bond buying program, cementing expectations the Fed will start withdrawing its crisis-era stimulus as soon as next month. "I myself believe that the 'substantial further progress' standard has more than been met with regard to our price-stability mandate and has all but been met with regard to our employment mandate," Fed Vice Chair Richard Clarida said in prepared remarks to the Institute of International Finance virtual annual meeting, as he repeated that the Fed at its last meeting agreed tapering "may soon be warranted" and would likely conclude in the middle of next year. Clarida's upbeat assessment likely echoes the sentiments of his boss, Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who had previously said that he only needed to see a "decent" September U.S. jobs report to be ready to begin to taper bond buys in November. Earlier on Tuesday, Atlanta Fed President Rafael Bostic said last month's jobs report displayed sufficient progress and endorsed a November start. "I'd be comfortable starting in November,†he said in an interview with the Financial Times. "I think that the progress has been made, and the sooner we get moving on that the better."