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Fed's Harker Backs December Hike, Says 2018 Hinges on Inflation

  • Harker wants to raise rates to give Fed crisis ammunition
  • No sign that inflation is running out of control ‘in any way’
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BlackRock Thinks Rates Can Move Moderately Higher

Jeanna Smialek and Alister Bull

Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Patrick Harker suggested he’ll likely support a third 2017 interest-rate increase next month, but said he wants to see signs of inflation moving higher before backing tightening next year.

Harker has “not at this point” seen anything that would push him away from a widely expected hike at the Federal Open Market Committee’s December meeting, he said in an interview Tuesday at the Philadelphia Fed. After that, he wants to see clear signs that inflation is accelerating before moving again.