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Fed’s Williams says US economy is in good shape, hike warranted

Bloomberg Published on Wed, Sep 07, 2016 / 4:06 PM GMT+8

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WASHINGTON (Sept 7): Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President John Williams painted an upbeat picture of the US economy in a speech on Tuesday, despite recent disappointing data that’s led investors to reduce their bets on an interest-rate increase later this month.

The economy is “in good shape and headed in the right direction,” Williams said in the text of a speech delivered in Reno, Nevada. When asked whether recent weak data on manufacturing and services and slower job growth are weighing on that assessment, he said he’s waiting to talk to his staff and Federal Open Market Committee colleagues before making up his mind.

“I see the data releases, I’m not drawing big conclusions from them -- I know that next week, I’m going to be sitting down with my staff and reading lots of materials and analysis” before heading to Washington and discussing the developments further, Williams told reporters in a press briefing following his speech.