Investing.com – Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said on Friday, she expected a gradual increase in interest rates this year and hinted that should U.S. economic data come in as expected, then further monetary tightening "would likely be appropriate" at the Fed's policy meeting in March.
Fed Chair Yellen struck a similar tone to that of several Fed officials over the past few days, who indicated that tighter monetary policy may be coming soon, should the U.S. economy continue to show robust growth.
“At our meeting later this month, the committee will evaluate whether employment and inflation are continuing to evolve in line with our expectations, in which case a further adjustment of the federal funds rate would likely be appropriate,” Ms. Yellen said.
The Federal Reserve's next policy meeting is scheduled for 14 -15 March.
Investing.com’s Fed Rate monitor tool, was little changed following Ms. Yellen's comments, as 73.1% of traders expect a rate hike in March.
The U.S. dollar index ticked lower to trade at 101.78.
Gold futures edged $5.40, or 0.41% lower to $1228.20, while Treasury yields rose 0.43% with the U.S. 10-Year trading at around 2.5 by 14:09 ET.