Fed hints at support for higher rates

Janet Yellen spent most of her four years as Federal Reserve chair as a dove but ended her term on a hawkish note, building the case for further interestrate hikes at her final policy meeting before handing over to Jerome Powell.

While leaving rates unchanged, the US central bank said “gains in employment, household spending and business fixed investment have been solid,” in a statement on Wednesday that also upgraded the outlook for inflation, paving the way for a hike in March.

Policymakers tweaked the language of the statement to include two references to the word “further” in connection with their outlook for additional gradual rate hikes.