July 15 (Reuters) - Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans on Thursday said he’s still digesting what the recent leap in inflation means for the appropriate timing of interest rate increases, but signaled he still sees liftoff as years away. “If I have an early 2024 liftoff it doesn’t take a lot to move it into late 2023,” Evans told reporters in a conference call, referring to his personal forecast for when a first rate hike would be appropriate. Fed policymakers as a group see 2023 as the most likely year for the liftoff in borrowing costs. “Your comfort level with above 2% inflation, that’s a tough one for central bankers ... in my opinion it just requires patience; we always say it, but I’m pretty sure that by the end of the year we are going to have a better view of what the inflation effects are.” (Reporting by Ann Saphir Editing by Paul Simao)