WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Charles Evans, a leading dove on the Federal Reserve, said Friday that he was able to support the latest policy statement because it did not rule out the U.S. central bank keep rates at zero for a lengthy period.

“I believe we would be well served by being cautious and be in no hurry to raise interest rates,” Evans told reporters after an event at the Brookings Institution.

Evans said the statement was “serviceable” and was easily consistent with the Fed not raising rates ”for quite some time” or “with raising rates in June if conditions warrant.”

Evans said the key for a move is whether inflation picking up.

On Wednesday, the Fed dropped the word “patient” from its statement, and signaled that a rate hike will be on the table as soon as June. In a separate appearance, Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart said a rate hike would be in play at the June, July and September meetings.

Several analysts thought that Evans would dissent from Wednesday’s statement.

He told reporters that he still thinks that a rate hike in 2016 is more likely than an earlier move based on the economic conditions as he sees them.

The Chicago Fed president dismissed suggestions that the Fed might want to raise interest rates above zero to deflate any potential asset bubbles. He said that macro-prudential and regulatory tools were the best way to combat financial market excesses.

He said he was not worried about volatile financial markets once the Fed actually does raise interest rates.

In a paper released Thursday, Evans argued that the biggest risk for the Fed was a premature rate hike damaging the economy and forcing the Fed to retreat and lower rates.