US outlook 'good'

With the US economic outlook "definitely looking good," the US central bank is on the cusp of deciding whether to raise rates at any of its next few meetings, San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams said.

"I view the balancing act as very similar to the balancing act that kind of led to the first rate increase.... We have to be making the decision. Do we want to wait a little longer or act now?" Williams told reporters after a speech at the Sacramento Economic Forum.

Two to three rate increases this year "definitely still makes sense," he said.

The Fed raised rates in December for the first time in nearly a decade, but has kept them on hold since then largely because of worries over a slowdown in China and Europe.

Williams, a centrist whose views are generally in line with those of Fed Chair Janet Yellen, said he has not yet conferred with his staff economists over whether the next rate increase would be best made in June, July or September.