Fed's Williams says open-minded on September meeting

San Francisco Federal Reserve President John Williams said Monday that he would go into next week's Fed policy-setting meeting with an open mind on whether to begin cutting the pace of the Fed's $85 billion monthly bond purchases.

"I am still 100 per cent on board with Chairman (Ben) Bernanke's timeline" for beginning so-called tapering later this year and ending the bond buys next year, Williams told reporters after a speech about asset bubbles at the annual meeting of the National Association for Business Economics.

A government report on Friday showing the US economy did not add as many jobs as expected in August had some investors doubting whether the Fed will begin to cut back its bond-buying stimulus next week.

Recent data is broadly consistent with a view that the economy is gradually improving, Williams said, and the Fed should not be unduly swayed by any single month of data.

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