The Federal Open Market Committee's March meeting should include a "serious" discussion of a rate hike, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President and CEO John C. Williams said Tuesday.
"In my view, a rate increase is very much on the table for serious consideration at our March meeting," he told Santa Cruz business leaders, according to prepared text of a speech released by the Fed.
"I've been publicly supportive of a gradual increase in rates, and I am confident that the economy will continue to grow at a healthy pace even as we raise rates," he said.
In addition to being "around full employment," Williams said, "downward inflation pressures have been fading, however, and our graph lines are moving in the right direction to reach the 2-perent goal over the next year or so."
That means "we're very close to achieving our dual mandate goals. Yet monetary policy essentially still has the pedal to the metal, with interest rates that remain near historical lows. We need to gradually ease our foot off the gas in order to avoid a 'too hot' economy that in the end isn't sustainable."
