New York Fed's Williams sees scope for 'near term' rate cut

(Sharecast News) - The head of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has said he sees scope for shortly reducing interest rates due to weakness in the labour market. In a speech about inflation-targeting at a conference in Santiago, Chile, John Williams refrained from predicting when a rate cut would be appropriate, but said that he would support the move "in the near term".

"I still see room for a further adjustment in the near term to the target range for the federal-funds rate to move the stance of policy closer to the range of neutral," Williams said on Friday.

The comments came just days after minutes from last month's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting were released, showing that the policymakers were divided over the future path of monetary policy.

"Looking ahead, it is imperative to restore inflation to our 2% longer-run goal on a sustained basis. It is equally important to do so without creating undue risks to our maximum employment goal," Williams said.