Federal Reserve officials believed last month that near-term risks to the U.S. economy had subsided and that an interest rate increase could soon be warranted. But they did not indicate when they would likely raise rates.
A stronger or weaker jobs report, month over month, will surely factor into the Federal Reserve's decision-making about whether or not to raise interest rates.
The International Monetary Fund urged the Federal Reserve to wait until the first half of 2016 to start raising short-term interest rates because the U.S. economy remains subpar.
Will a still-subpar economy and still-low inflation persuade the Federal Reserve to keep its key interest near zero until September -- or perhaps even longer?
Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer says he expects the Fed to start raising interest rates sometime this year. Once that happens, though, rates won't likely move in any predictable pattern, he added.