Fed’s George sees two more rate hikes in 2018: interviews

JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. (Reuters) – The Federal Reserve should raise rates further this year and probably next year as well, though that plan could change depending on economic and financial conditions, Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Esther George said in interviews aired Thursday.

“Based on what I see today, I think two more rate hikes could be appropriate,” and several more could be appropriate for next year as the Fed aims to move interest rates to a neutral setting of about 3 percent, George told Bloomberg TV in an interview taped on Wednesday, one day before start of an annual central bankers’ conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming that she hosts.

The shape of the yield curve, which some Fed officials have said gives them pause about further rate hikes, does have an impact on policy-setting, she told CNBC. But there are upside risks to economic growth from fiscal stimulus that could force the Fed to move faster than expected, and downside risks could force the Fed to pause short of 3 percent, she told Bloomberg TV.

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