The S&P 500 index of U.S. stocks has fallen 12 percent since a September peak. Policy makers are trying to balance headwinds from tighter financial conditions, slower growth abroad and softness in some parts of the U.S. economy, against a strong U.S. labor market and robust consumer spending.
Evans forecast U.S. economic growth a bit above 2 percent this year with unemployment continuing to fall. As a result, he said the Fed should raise rates “eventually’’ to a range of 3 percent to 3.25 percent.
“Developments in the first half of 2019 will be very important for making this assessment of our future monetary policy actions,” he said.
Rosengren also said he believed the view of the U.S. economy reflected in financial markets would ultimately prove overly pessimistic.
“My own view is that the economic outlook is actually brighter than the outlook one might infer from recent financial-market movements,” he said.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.