Biden, in a Progressive Push, Taps Three Democrats to Join Federal Reserve

Reuters

Fed officials say rate hikes near as inflation soars

U.S. central bankers, in a last flurry of public comments before their upcoming January policy meeting, are making it crystal clear: they’ll likely start raising interest rates as early as March to rein in high inflation likely to be made worse by the current surge of COVID-19. It is “sensible” for the central bank to begin raising interest rates this year, following dramatic improvements in the labor market and inflation that is well above the Fed’s 2% target, New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams said on Friday. “We see inflation that’s obviously higher than we want and not coming down yet,” Williams told reporters.