This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-35921558
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
Yellen: Fed should 'proceed cautiously' with rate rises | Yellen: Fed should 'proceed cautiously' with rate rises |
(35 minutes later) | |
US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen said the Fed should "proceed cautiously" before raising interest rates. | |
She said global risks were not expected to have a deep impact on the US, but caution was still appropriate. | She said global risks were not expected to have a deep impact on the US, but caution was still appropriate. |
Global developments and risks had led policymakers to project a slower path of rate rises than initially expected in December, Ms Yellen said. | Global developments and risks had led policymakers to project a slower path of rate rises than initially expected in December, Ms Yellen said. |
US markets rose during her speech at the Economic Club of New York. | US markets rose during her speech at the Economic Club of New York. |
Her tone was similar to the Fed's statement in mid-March, when the central bank made no change to rates and guided expectations towards a slower pace of increases after December's increase. | |
The Fed has said it will depend on economic data for a decision on rates, but several policymakers have voiced support for more than one increase this year. | |
However, Ms Yellen said volatile oil prices and China's slowing growth, coupled with how soon domestic inflation would reach the Fed's 2% goal, were key factors guiding the Fed towards taking a gradual approach on raising rates. | |
Omer Esiner, chief market analyst at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange, said: "On balance, [Yellen's] comments do not sound consistent with a looming rate hike in April and leave considerable doubt about whether rates will rise in June. | |
"Given that her tone contrasts what we heard from various Fed speakers last week, Ms Yellen's comments are likely to prove, once again, frustrating for dollar bulls." | |
Following Ms Yellen's speech, Wall Street climbed sharply. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 77 points to 17,612, the S&P 500 rose 9 points to 2,047, and the Nasdaq climbed 48 points to 4,815. |