Federal Reserve’s John Williams backs Janet Yellen’s hawkish stance on interest rates
Washington — Federal Reserve policy maker John Williams has made the case for further gradual increases in interest rates, saying he expects inflation to rise to the central bank’s 2% target next year as unemployment edges lower. "Gradually raising interest rates to bring monetary policy back to normal helps us keep the economy growing at a rate that can be sustained for a longer time," Williams said in remarks prepared for delivery at the University of Technology in Sydney. The comments by the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco suggest he is lining up with Fed chairwoman Janet Yellen, his predecessor at the bank, in an emerging debate on how to respond to an easing in inflation during the last few months. While some Fed officials have argued for a pause in the rate-hiking campaign to wait for clearer signs that inflation is indeed headed higher, Yellen has played down the significance of recent weak price data and suggested the Fed remains on course for higher r...
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