Investing.com – Chicago Fed president Charles Evans backed the U.S. central bank chief Janet Yellen’s dovish stance on Wednesday and suggested that a rate hike at the April meeting would be unlikely.
Evans noted that global risk is higher than it was when the Fed raised interest rates for the first time in a decade back in December and that accommodative monetary policy remains appropriate.
Referring to Yellen’s dovish speech on Tuesday night, Evans insisted that the Fed chief “laid out all the right issues”.
In the interview with CNBC, the Chicago Fed president added that he would be surprised if the conditions were met for a rate hike at the next meeting in April, though he did note that a move could happen in June if there were continued labor market gains.
Among his forecasts, Evans repeated that he believes the economy will warrant two hikes this year based on his estimate for 2-2.5% growth.
Evans' interview came before a scheduled speech to the Forecasters Club of New York at 17:00GMT, or 13:00ET.