Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans said in a speech on Thursday that the Fed should hike its interest rate twice this year as inflation remains very low.

"I am less optimistic about the inflation outlook than most of my colleagues. Given the persistently-low- inflation record of the past six years and given how slowly inflation evolves when it is at such low levels, it may be difficult to return inflation to target over the next two or three years," he said.

"From my perspective, the costs of raising the federal funds rate too quickly far exceed the costs of removing accommodation too slowly," Evans added.

Evans is not a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) this year.