Chicago Fed's Evans Makes Case for Delay in Rate Rise

New York (Jun 3)  Chicago Federal Reserve chief Charles Evans said the Federal Reserve may want to hold off on increasing interest rates until core inflation has a steady hold on its target of 2%.

In a speech given today in London to the Global Interdependence Center Evans said he expects core inflation, which strips out the "volatile and transitory food and energy components", will be 1.6% at the end of this year and that core and total inflation will hit the 2% mark in three years.

Evans is not a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee. The FOMC is expected to make an incremental rate increase at its June meeting.

"The downside inflation risks seem big - losing credibility on the downside would make it all the more difficult to ever reach our inflation target," Evans said.

He said that he expects the U.S. economy will grow by 2% to 2.5% in the remainder of the year. Although, the unemployment rate is hovering around the Fed's mark of 5%, Evans said that other measures, such as subdued wage growth, "suggest that some slack remain in the labor market."

The U.S. May nonfarm jobs report expected later today will provide the FOMC with the latest snapshot of the strength of the labor market and economy ahead of the June meeting. It is expected that 160,000 will have been added last month.

Source: TheStreet