Posted on 05/17/16
| News Source: Matzav
A U.S. Federal Reserve policymaker said on Tuesday that he will push for an interest rate hike in June or July and two others still see up to three rate increases this year, leaving the door open to a change in monetary policy relatively soon.
The U.S. central bank has held rates steady at a target range of 0.25 to 0.50 percent since moving from near zero in December. In its April policy statement it indicated it wants to have more confidence in the economy's overall health before raising rates again.
Data on consumer prices, housing starts and industrial production released earlier on Tuesday showed the U.S. economy re-accelerating into the second quarter.
Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan told reporters in Texas that he will advocate for an interest-rate hike at the Fed's upcoming policy meetings. "Whether that's June or July, I can't say right now," Kaplan said.
Kaplan added that after that first 2016 rate hike he would prefer to pause to assess conditions, and while he would "hope" to continue to normalize rates thereafter, the pace of rate hikes will depend on economic data.
Despite the Fed standing pat in the first three meetings of the year, Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart said at an event in Washington that he still assumes there will be...read more at Reuters