Fed's Evans: No Reason To 'hurry' To Raise Rates

There is no reason for the U.S. central bank to be in a rush to tighten monetary policy, until it has much greater confidence that inflation will rise to an annual target of 2%, said Charles Evans, the president of the Chicago Fed, on Wednesday. "I see no compelling reason for us to be in a hurry to tighten financial conditions before that time," Evans said in a speech to a business group in suburban Chicago. He repeated his view that the Fed should be patient until early next year. Evans, a voting member of the Fed policy committee, is one of the most dovish Fed presidents. The Chicago Fed president said he doesn't see inflation rising to the Fed's 2% annual rate target until 2018 and added that he has "serious concerns" that inflation will run even lower than his forecast. Fed watchers think Evans will dissent if the Fed drops the word "patient" from its forward guidance later this month.