(Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) may need to raise interest rates at least three times this year, starting in March, to respond to labor market tensions and persistently high inflation and wider, Cleveland Fed chairman Loretta Mester said Tuesday.
“If the economy in March looks like it is today and the outlook is similar (…) then I would support a rate hike at this meeting [la réunion du Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)-NDLR] and the removal of some of the extraordinary devices that were needed at the start of the pandemic, ”she said in an interview with Bloomberg TV.
The Fed’s final monetary policy decisions will depend on the economic situation and will be based on the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic, she added, however.
She notes, however, that Fed officials may have to recalibrate their policy now to deal with inflation “well above” the US central bank’s target.
The consumer price index (CPI) in the United States for the month of December will be released on Wednesday and is expected according to the Reuters consensus up to 7% year on year.
(Report Jonnelle Marte; French version Claude Chendjou, edited by Sophie Louet)
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