But he cautioned that uncertainty about the natural rate of unemployment is very large, as much as “two percentage points on either side.”
Trade tariffs recently imposed on Chinese imports by the Trump administration seem to be “adding some uncertainty, but it’s uncertainty at a time where the economy is doing very strongly, and the labor market continues to improve,” so it makes sense to continue raising interest rates, Evans said.
Trump recently criticized the Fed’s rate increases, saying he doesn’t “like all of this work that we’re putting into the economy and then I see rates going up.”
When asked about Trump’s comments, Evans said he wasn’t concerned.
“I take a lot of confidence from the way that the Federal Reserve system has been designed by Congress and the president, that we have a certain amount of independence, that we’re allowed to undertake our best decision-making,” he said.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.