NEW YORK, May 19 (Reuters) - New York Federal Reserve President John Williams acknowledged on Monday that investors are taking a look at how they invest in U.S. assets while noting he's seen no large-scale move away, and added that the U.S. central bank can take its time before deciding its next interest rate move.
Flagging signs of "rumors or concerns" about the state of U.S. dollar assets amid big government policy changes and large levels of uncertainty, Williams told a Mortgage Bankers Association conference in New York that "we're not seeing major changes" in how foreign money flows into the Treasury bond market, although there have been some price effects related to those shifting preferences.
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Williams said even with rising yields related to this situation, government bond yields have been mostly range-bound. He also said when it comes to "core" fixed income markets like the Treasury market, the sector has been "functioning very well."
The New York Fed chief also said "the economy is doing very well" at the moment amid lots of uncertainty and some signs in recent data that there could be trouble ahead. Fed interest rate policy is slightly restrictive of growth and is "well positioned" for what lies ahead, he said.
"It's going to take some time to get a clear view" on how the economy is faring given all the government policy shifts and "we can take our time" to figure out where interest rate policy stands. He said clarity on the impact of things like the surge in import tariffs implemented by the Trump administration will not come quickly.
Reporting by Michael S. Derby; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Paul Simao
