Traders Await Fed Testimony At Congress
Traders are preparing for news from the US Senate Banking Committee as Janet Yellen, Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, is set to give testimony before the committee on rate hikes.
In the meantime, the US dollar has kept up with Monday’s gains and is in the green with an increase of 0.15% for online forex trading.
Janet Yellen is not expected to clear up many details about the rate hike timetable, opting to fall in line with the message put out by the Federal Reserve to wait on any movements in the economy. Specifically, the Fed has indicated that they are concerned about the tentative job market figures, worrying events overseas and low inflation. This is all despite the optimistic and improved gauges in certain areas of the economy such as employment.
Yellen’s semi-annual report before the Senate committee will touch on matters concerning interest rates and the overall economy, but her tentative testimony will likely not please Lawmakers in Congress, who will stress for clarity on these matters. The counter to this for Yellen is that the economic outlook is not clear as the Federal Reserve are having to make economic decisions for an uncertain and volatile future.
The House committee will also hear from Yellen on Wednesday. Some analyst have predicted that Yellen may suggest a rate hike in June, removing the false optimism that has spawned criticism of the Federal Reserve in some sectors regarding their tentative action on raising rates.
It is thought that many at the Federal Reserve were leaning towards keeping the rates in the lower band, but January’s positive job market figures have made the picture a lot more complicated and some at the Fed may be edging towards support of a rate hike.
