Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan said on Wednesday that the Fed should be patient and cautious in hiking its interest rate, noting that gradual interest rate hikes would appropriate. He added that he would vote for an interest rate hike if the U.S. economic data remained strong.

He expects the U.S. economy to expand 1.9% this year.

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