Fed’s Mester Says Economy Can Handle Rate Hike

The U.S. economy “can handle” an increase in interest rates despite the risks around the outlook, said Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester, on Thursday. “It is appropriate for monetary policy to take a step back from the emergency measure of zero interest rates,” Mester said in a speech at New York University Stern Center for Global Economy and Business. Given the outlook, Mester said interest rates should move up gradually.

Fed officials are divided over whether to hike interest rates this year. As a result, traders who bet on the future path of the fed funds rate now expect the first hike to occur in March 2016, according to CME FedWatch. Mester will be a voting member of the Fed policy committee in 2016.

Market Watch

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.

Former Craig

Former Craig

Former Senior Market Analyst, UK & EMEA at OANDA
Based in London, Craig Erlam joined OANDA in 2015 as a market analyst. With many years of experience as a financial market analyst and trader, he focuses on both fundamental and technical analysis while producing macroeconomic commentary. His views have been published in the Financial Times, Reuters, The Telegraph and the International Business Times, and he also appears as a regular guest commentator on the BBC, Bloomberg TV, FOX Business and SKY News. Craig holds a full membership to the Society of Technical Analysts and is recognised as a Certified Financial Technician by the International Federation of Technical Analysts.