WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — In a speech to the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen said she expects interest rates to rise a few times per year until the end of 2019. “As of last month, I and most of my colleagues–the other members of the Fed Board in Washington and the presidents of the 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks–were expecting to increase our federal funds rate target a few times a year until, by the end of 2019, it is close to our estimate of its longer-run neutral rate of 3 percent,” she said. “Right now our foot is still pressing on the gas pedal, though, as I noted, we have eased back a bit.” Yellen also pointed out slow productivity growth is likely to prevent the Fed from a more aggressive pace of hiking. Yellen is due to take questions, and is due to deliver a different speech more specifically on the economic outlook on Thursday night.
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From:: Stock Market News