Boston Fed’s Collins advocates patience on interest rates

Boston Federal Reserve President Susan Collins said on Tuesday she's in no rush to change the US central bank's benchmark interest rate amid current economic uncertainty.

"Calibrating appropriate policy in this context is challenging," but "continued overall solid economic conditions enable the Fed to take the time to carefully assess the wide range of incoming data," Collins said in the text of a speech to be delivered at a National Association for Business Economics event in Washington.

Higher import prices will push up inflation - core inflation will rise to around 3% by the end of this year - while depressing economic growth and employment, Collins said.

She added that the trade tariffs imposed by the Trump administration will leave a mark on the economy, and there's some evidence it's already happening based on the movement of some goods prices.