Timing of Rate Hike ‘Not Really That Critical’: Fed’s Evans

There could be two rate hikes in 2016 if data continue to be favorable but the timing of both won’t prove to be crucial, Charles Evans, the Chicago Federal Reserve president, told CNBC on Thursday.

“Two rate hikes in 2016, that’s my own call for that, if the data continue to be in line with my outlook, that’s a slow and gradual increase this year,” said Evans, who is an alternate member of the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) and votes on decisions when a full-time committee member is unable to.

“Timing’s not really that important, you mentioned possibly two summer hikes, that would be a little bit more than I’d say is … priced in to the dots certainly and the market expectations,” Evans added in an interview aired on Friday.

“Timing’s not really that critical for my viewpoint, as long as by the end of this year we’re at just a little under 1 percent,” Evans added.

CNBC

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.