U.S. central bankers will take time to judge whether the U.K. vote to leave the European Union affects the outlook for the U.S. economy, said Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer.
"We are going to have to wait and see," Fischer said Friday in an interview on CNBC television. "It clearly is a huge event for the U.K. and it's an important event for Europe. Our direct trade with Britain is not going to make a huge difference to us, but it could set off -- there are a lot of things that will follow from Brexit for Europe, for the United Kingdom, and those are the things we will have to be thinking about."
Fischer's appearance marked his first public comments on the economy and monetary policy since March 7.
Longer-term Treasury yields fell to record lows Friday following the release of weaker-than-expected Chinese manufacturing data and ongoing political turmoil in the U.K. following the June 23 referendum.
The U.K. vote to leave the EU has dashed investor expectations of a federal funds rate increase this year, following a hike in December that marked the first in nearly a decade.
Fischer said that following "very bad" U.S. employment data for May, other reports have shown the U.S. economy "has done pretty well" and that "most of the incoming data look good."
"Now, you can't make a whole story out of a month and a half of data, but this is looking better than it had before, so as we consider the effects of Brexit, we have to put that effect on the U.S. together with what else is going on in the U.S. economy," he said. "I hope that we strengthen, and that the economy strengthens, and that we continue along this slow, very gradual path we've been on."
