Mester says Fed may raise rates within the next six months
January 6, 2015 by Alister Bull
(Bloomberg) — Broad U.S. economic strength may allow the Federal Reserve to start raising interest rates within the next six months and the data will determine the pace of policy tightening thereafter, a regional Fed chief said.
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester said in an interview with Fox Business Network today that she had a “pretty good” outlook for U.S. growth of around 3 percent in 2015, with inflation heading back up toward the Fed’s 2 percent target while unemployment continues to decline.
“I could imagine interest rates going up in the first half of the year,” said Mester, a voter on the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee in 2014, who didn’t dissent at any of the meetings she attended after taking the helm at the Cleveland Fed in June. Click here to read…