CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (Reuters) – Weak inflation means the Federal Reserve can likely leave interest rates at their newly reduced level for “some substantial period of time,” Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said on Tuesday.
“We are really just on the cusp of all this,” Evans said, following a speech, when asked how he is thinking about the Fed’s next policy move after the Fed’s half-point rate cut announced earlier in the day in response to the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
With inflation running below the Fed’s 2% target, “I am comfortable with where we are,” Evans said. “Even at this lower range, for some substantial period of time I don’t see inflation being a problem.”
(Reporting by Howard Schneider; Editing by Leslie Adler)
