China Gold Network reported on March 2 that the vast majority of the Fed members supported interest rate hikes in June, but Fed Chairman Yellen, who has been a "consensus seeker", has not yet made a decision.
The vast majority of the Fed members support interest rate hikes in June, but Yellen has not yet made a decision
7 of the 17 current Fed members said they should at least see the Fed's proposal to raise interest rates in June for discussion, or raise interest rates early before wages and inflation rise.
However, a few core Fed officials publicly stated that the U.S. economy and job market are still far from healthy. Only four Fed officials made it clear last week that interest rate hikes are still inappropriate later this year and even before 2016.
Five Fed officials, including Yellen, said that if the U.S. economy continues to improve, the Fed will think about whether to raise interest rates at each meeting. The labor market continues to improve and is likely to continue to improve in the future. When the FOMC committee has "reasonable confidence" in inflation, that is, it believes that inflation will move towards the 2% target, the Federal Reserve will make a decision to raise interest rates.
Most Fed officials said the Fed will likely remove the "patient" wording decision at its policy meeting on March 17-18 to prepare for the Fed's interest rate hike in June.
The Fed is currently in the focus of global attention as it is weighing when to raise interest rates and how quickly it should tighten policy at subsequent speeds. The U.S. benchmark interest rate has been at a near zero level for more than six years.
Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank president Loretta Mester, some policy makers, warned that the Fed should not wait too long, given concerns about potential financial stability and the impact on public economic confidence.
Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said without hesitation when answering questions in the forum that despite some forecasts among investors, the Fed will raise interest rates this year. He said the first rate hike is "again" and the Fed will not follow the established path after that.
However, Fed President Dudley said that hikes too late are safer than acts too early, and warned against rushing to tighten monetary policy.
Regarding the dilemma of when to raise interest rates, Yellen said that from the perspective of economic growth, "we don't know where the new normal level is." Although the economy has improved significantly, it has not reached the level of interest rate hikes; premature interest rate hikes may weaken the economic recovery that has just stood firm. The Federal Reserve has flexibility in monetary policy, and the time window for hikes is relatively flexible.
