Fed Still Open to Second-Half Rate Rise Despite Slowing Economy
Odds Drop That Fed Will Raise Rates in June
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Federal Reserve policy makers left open the possibility of raising interest rates in the second half of this year by playing down the significance of the economy’s slowdown to a near-standstill in the first quarter.
In a statement issued Wednesday after a two-day meeting, Chair Janet Yellen and her colleagues blamed the winter slump partly on “transitory factors” and reiterated their belief that growth will pick up to a “moderate pace.”