Lockhart Says Economy Supports Fed Rate Hike As Soon As April

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Dennis Lockhart said the U.S. economy is strong enough to weather another rate increase as early as next month.

“There is sufficient momentum evidenced by the economic data to justify a further step at one of the coming meetings, possibly as early as the meeting scheduled for end of April,” he said in the text of a speech in Savannah, Georgia, on Monday. Policy makers “will reevaluate whether the real economy -- the Main Street economy -- remains on the assumed path to full employment and price stability” and “take account of the context of risks and uncertainties surrounding the outlook,” he said.