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Fed's Williams says 'gradual' is key message on rate hikes

John Williams, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, speaks during an interview with Reuters in San Francisco, California December 18, 2015. REUTERS/Stephen Lam

SAN RAMON, Calif. (Reuters) - San Francisco Federal Reserve President John Williams said Wednesday that the key message from the U.S. central bank is that interest-rate hikes will be “gradual.”

If at some point the Fed does need to ease policy, he said, he would rather use tried and true monetary policy tools like quantitative easing rather than negative interest rates which could carry more costs than benefits.

Reporting by Ann Saphir; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama

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