Yellen Strays From Dovish Tone, Embraces Summer Hike Option

[thenews]

The hawkish bug seems to have also bitten Janet Yellen, the Chair of the Federal Reserve (Fed).

In an eagerly-anticipated interview on Friday, she dropped a hint that the next increase in short-term interest rates might come in the next couple of meetings.

Yellen reiterated that she still believes the Fed should raise rates gradually over time and that "probably, in the coming months, such a move would be appropriate."

She spoke during a ceremony at Harvard University. During a regular press conference back in March, Yellen sounded much more skeptical about the inflation outlook. Her comments on Friday sounded much more upbeat in comparison.

The remark puts the Fed leader into the camp of Fed officials who spoke about the possibility of a rate increase at one of the upcoming meetings at recent appearances.

The minutes from the Fed's April meeting released last week suggested that most officials would agree to raise the target for the policy rate at the June 14-15 meeting if economic, inflation and labor market data continue to improve in the second quarter.