Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans said the U.S. economy has improved “quite a lot” as the central bank maintains record stimulus.

“Currently we have the appropriate monetary policy in place,” Evans said in a speech in Chicago. “The U.S. economy seems to be performing pretty well right now.”

The policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee said May 1 that it will keep buying $85 billion in bonds per month as it seeks to bolster growth and reduce joblessness.

The U.S. central bank also said it would increase or decrease the pace of purchases in response to the labor market and inflation.

Evans said that he expects to see “self-sustaining growth” at “escape velocity” in 2014. “We would like to see inflation closer to our objective,” he added.