Fed's Williams says no rush to change monetary policy right now

By Michael S. Derby

March 21 (Reuters) - New York Federal Reserve President John Williams said on Friday it's still too soon to determine the impact of the Trump administration's tariffs on inflation, while adding that there are rising risks to the economic outlook and the central bank has time to decide the direction of its monetary policy.

Williams, speaking with reporters via video after a speech in the Bahamas, said "the downside risk to economic growth and the upside risk to inflation (are) both very high" and that change in outlook was reflected in new Fed forecasts released earlier this week.

He also deemed the monetary policy path penciled in by the Fed, which maintained an expectation of two quarter-percentage-point rate cuts this year, as "reasonable." Noting the main issue for the Fed's monetary policy now is managing risk and uncertainty, he said "we're not in a hurry" to make the next decision on interest rate policy.

When it comes to tariffs and their impact, Williams said that while Fed officials have gained some clarity about what will happen, there is still substantial uncertainty about how it will all play out. When it comes to gleaning the inflation impact, "it really depends on what the policies are and kind of what else is happening" in the economy, he said.