Yellen Sees Gradual Pace of Rate Rises Starting This Year

Chair Janet Yellen said she expects the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this year, and that subsequent increases will be gradual without following a predictable path.

“I expect that conditions may warrant an increase in the federal funds rate target sometime this year,” Yellen said Friday at a conference hosted by the San Francisco Fed. She and fellow policy makers “generally anticipate that a rather gradual rise in the federal funds rate will be appropriate over the next few years.”