First Fed rate hike likely this year

WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on Wednesday resisted calls for more congressional oversight as members of a House of Representatives panel criticized the central bank’s policies and pressed it to be more accountable.

In her semiannual testimony to Congress, Ms. Yellen repeated her view that the Fed will likely hike interest rates later this year if the U.S. economy expands as expected and cited improvement in the labor market.

Her remarks largely tracked the Fed’s policy statement last month.

In its latest survey of business conditions, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday that the economy was expanding in all regions of the country in the late spring, aided by strong sales of autos and other consumer goods.

The Fed report, known as the beige book, will be used by officials when they meet July 28-29 to consider interest rate policies.

But in the hearing before the House Financial Services Committee, monetary policy took a backseat to central bank transparency. While some lawmakers aggressively questioned Ms. Yellen, it was a gentler session than the grilling she received before the same panel in February.

The most heated exchange occurred when Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis., lambasted the Fed and Ms. Yellen for what he described as a failure to properly respond to the 2012 leak of sensitive information to a private financial newsletter.

“We’ve said that we plan to give [the documents] to you as soon as we’re able to do so and not compromise an open criminal investigation,” Ms. Yellen responded. “We want to see this investigation succeed.”

U.S. Treasury yields and the dollar rose on Ms. Yellen’s rate comments, while U.S. stocks held steady.