Fed’s John Williams sees a rate hike this year and a ‘few’ in 2017

WASHINGTON: Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President John Williams said he’d support one interest-rate increase in 2016 and a few more next year, though he added that he’d be unperturbed i f infl ation rose above the Fed’s 2% goal.

“The US economy is well-positioned to raise interest rates,” Williams told reporters in San Francisco on Friday. Having “a rate increase this year makes sense, having a few rate increases next year makes sense, in the context of how the economy has been performing and continues to perform.”

The Fed is assessing how much progress it has made toward its dual goals of 2% inflation and maximum employment as it weighs when to raise rates. Officials aren’t expected to lift rates when they meet in Washington November 1-2, the week before the US presidential election, though economists and investors do anticipate an increase at the Fed meeting in mid-December.