Fed President John Williams says wouldn't rule out June rate hike

Washington: San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams said the US central bank needs to keep its options open regarding the possibility of raising interest rates in June, Japanese financial news daily Nikkei reported on Monday.

"I wouldn`t want to eliminate the possibility of a rate hike in June," Williams was quoted as saying. Williams is among the voting members this year on the Fed`s policy-setting committee and his thinking on monetary policy is considered in the mainstream at the central bank.

Williams told the Nikkei the United States was not seeing a broad decline in inflation, and he said monetary policy actions can take "a year or two" to impact the economy.