The US is on the verge of meeting most of the economic conditions the Federal Reserve has set to increase interest rates next month, according to a member of the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee.
Eric Rosengren, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, told the Financial Times he was getting ready to back tighter monetary policy after financial and economic indicators swung in a positive direction after the Fed’s policy meeting in March.
Until last week markets were putting extremely low odds on a summer rate increase, in part because of the dovish tone of Fed chair Janet Yellen’s last speech two months ago. That picture was transformed on Wednesday, as the Fed minutes from its April rate-setting meeting suggested it was preparing the ground for a second interest rate increase following the quarter point rise in December.