The Federal Reserve has raised a key interest rate in response to a strengthening U.S. economy and expectations of higher inflation, and it foresees three more rate hikes in 2017.
Federal Reserve board member Lael Brainard indicated Monday that she's in no hurry to raise interest rates again, comments that were greeted with relief on Wall Street.
The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged Wednesday but sounded a positive note: Near-term risks to the economy, the Fed said, have diminished.
Anyone trying to peg the likelihood of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike this year has been subject to a topsy-turvy shift of expert opinion the past few months. And when the Fed holds its latest policy meeting this week, few think it will provide much more clarity.
In a possible preview of a speech Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen will give Monday, a close ally said Friday that the Fed should be in no hurry to raise interest rates, especially after a bleak U.S. jobs report.
The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that the economy grew at a modest pace in much of the country from April to mid-May, despite headwinds ranging from slower consumer spending to ongoing weakness in the manufacturing and the energy sectors.