“We consider it unlikely that economic conditions would warrant an increase in the target range at the April meeting. Such an increase could be warranted at any later meeting depending on how the economy evolves,” Yellen said.
Yellen emphasized that the Committee has not decided on the timing of the initial increase yet.
“This change doesn’t mean that the increase will necessarily occur in June, although we can’t rule that out,” Yellen said.
The target range for the interest rate might be raised after further labor market improvement, and when the FOMC is reasonably confident that inflation in the United States will move back to 2 percent objective over the medium-term, according to Yellen.
The FOMC is charged under US law to oversee market operations, the main tool used to influence overall monetary and credit conditions, including meeting regularly to establish interest rates.
The Federal Reserve is the Central Bank of the United States that is responsible for national monetary policy, setting interest rates and regulating banks.
