Fed Officials Say Economy Is Ready for Higher Rates<br />In the policy statement the Fed issued after the January meeting, the central bank outlined its approach to raising rates, saying it “expects<br />that economic conditions will evolve in a manner that will warrant further gradual increases in the federal funds rate.”<br />The meeting account said the addition of the word “further” in<br />that statement reflected the increased confidence among officials that the Fed would continue raising rates.<br />WASHINGTON — Robust economic growth has increased the confidence of Federal Reserve officials<br />that the economy is ready for higher interest rates, according to an official account of the central bank’s most recent policymaking meeting in late January.<br />The Fed did not raise its benchmark interest rate at the meeting on Jan. 30 and 31,<br />but the account reinforced investor expectations the Fed would raise rates at its next meeting in March.<br />The account said Fed officials have upgraded their economic outlooks since the beginning of the year<br />and listed three main reasons: The strength of recent economic data, accommodative financial conditions and the expected impact of the $1.5 trillion tax cut that took effect in January.<br />Most Fed officials predicted in December the Fed would raise rates three times in 2018, as it did last year.<br />The Fed is seeking to raise rates gradually to maintain control of inflation without impeding an economic expansion<br />that is nearing the end of its ninth year, one of the longest stretches of continuous economic growth in American history.
