Fed's interest rates hike 'dependent on economic performance', says Dudley
William Dudley, the president of the New York Federal Reserve, said that economic performance will determine the timing of the first interest rates hike.
On Monday Dudley said he was hopeful to see the US central bank implement a stricter policy later this year, adding there was mild optimism that the US economy would continue to expand at a steady pace.
However, “because the economic outlook is uncertain, I can’t tell you when normalisation will occur,” he said, adding that raising interest rates did not mean that US monetary policy will be tight.
The data will "hopefully" support a rate hike later this year, Dudley said at the Bloomberg Americas Monetary Summit.
The New York Fed president, a voting member of the FOMC, remained cautious over how long it would take the Fed to raise interest rates.
“The timing is data dependent,” he said. “We will have to see what unfolds.”
The Fed is expected to raise interested rates by the second half of the year, according to analysts and Fed officials and Dudley said the move could create "significant challenges" for emerging market economies.