MNI POLICY: Fed's Evans: Monetary Policy Is In A Good Place

--U.S. Fundamentals Are 'Quite Good'

By Evan Ryser

     NEW YORK (MNI) - Chicago Fed President Charles Evans on Wednesday said the

Fed will pause to monitor incoming data and look to have inflation rise to meet

the Fed's symmetric target. 

     "Policy is in a good place," Evans said to reporters after a Council on

Foreign Relations event in New York City. 

     Charles Evans, a voter this year, said "the economy is in a good place

right now. The consumer is very strong. The data reflect that."

     Evans emphasized that the Fed needs to do better to achieve its 2%

symmetric inflation objective. "We have not strongly defended our symmetric

target." 

     "Are we in a pause? I think we are always going into a meeting thinking

about how the data are," Evans said, noting slowing global growth, trade

uncertainty, and low inflation. "I will be looking at inflation quite a lot." 

     Evans' comments were his first in public since the Fed delivered its third

rate cut of the year last week. The Fed has signaled that the most recent cuts

will be it for now and the Fed will remain data dependent. 

     "At the moment it looks like the slowdown in manufacturing is not affecting

the economy in a broad level," Evans said. "Labor market has been strong."

--MNI Washington Bureau; +1 202 371 2121; email: evan.ryser@marketnews.com

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