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Empresas y finanzas

Fed stands ready to do what is needed to meet goals: Williams


    COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve is prepared to do more to bring down unemployment that is far too high, and to steer inflation back up to the central bank's 2 percent target, a top Fed official said on Monday.

    In remarks prepared for delivery to the joint convention of the Idaho, Nevada, and Oregon Bankers Associations, San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams stopped short of calling outright for a new round of bond purchases to lower borrowing costs already near historic lows.

    But Williams set the table for further easing, saying the Fed was missing its goal of fostering maximum employment and was at the same time undershooting its inflation goal.

    "If further action is called for, the most effective tool would be additional purchases of longer-maturity securities, including agency mortgage-backed securities," Williams said.

    "We stand ready to do what is necessary to attain our goals of maximum employment and price stability."

    The Fed has kept short-term interest rates near zero since December 2008 and has said it will keep them there through at least late 2014. It has also bought $2.3 trillion in Treasuries and housing-backed bonds in two rounds of so-called quantitative easing.

    Last month it eased monetary policy by adding six months to its Operation Twist program, a step Williams said would have only a modest impact on the economy.

    (Reporting by Ann Saphir; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)