US: Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen Speech

Highlights
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen speaks at the Executives' Club of Chicago

She's leaving elbow room, but Janet Yellen is turning the heat up at least a little bit for a rate hike at the mid-month FOMC. Yellen said this year's pace of tightening will not be as slow as last year, a comment that points to a minimum of one more rate hike sometime this year. She also said the labor market is at full employment, that inflation is moving closer to the Fed's 2 percent target, and that waiting too long to lift rates could risk a recession. She also specifically cited March as a meeting for possible action. But on the dovish side, she repeated the need for a gradual approach and said the Fed has not fallen behind the inflation curve. Markets are showing little reaction though short rates are inching higher.