QE3 may be coming to a central bank near you later this year, according to according to Kansas City Fed President Thomas Hoenig, who said that the Federal Reserve may consider extending its quantitative easing program beyond June 30, 2010 – the current completion date scheduled for QE2 – if U.S. economic data does not meet policymakers expectations in the coming months.

Another round of asset purchases “may get discussed” if the economic data looks “disappointing,” Hoenig told Market News International in an interview on Tuesday, according to a report from Reuters.

It is somewhat surprising that of all the Fed Presidents, these QE3 comments came from Hoenig, one of the few inflation hawks at the Federal Reserve. Hoenig is no longer a voting member of the FOMC due to passing the Fed’s age limit, however.

Hoenig’s QE3 comments align with recent predictions from long-time gold bull John Embry, Chief Investment Strategist at Sprott Asset Management, who last week forecasted “QE to infinity.”  With QE1 and QE2 already implemented, “get ready for QE3 and most probably many more,” Embry stated, “all of which will be wildly bullish” for the price of gold and silver.