Fed to raise rates in December, says S&P chief economist

ANKARA

The U.S. Federal Reserve will "almost certainly" raise interest rates in December, Standard & Poor’s Chief Economist Paul Sheard said Wednesday.

Speaking in Tokyo at the Foreign Correspondents’ Association, Sheard said the Fed will find conditions right to justify a rate hike at its monetary policy committee meeting from Dec. 15 to 16.

Earlier this month, Federal Reserve Governor Janet Yellen said a rate hike was a "live possibility" in December.

On Japan’s economy, Sheard said that the country was "limping out of a recession" but there were signs the Bank of Japan’s policies for economic stimulus -- injecting funds into the economy with securities purchases -- was working.

There was no limit to the bank’s quantitative easing policies for stimulus, he added, although it will take time for the central bank to reach its 2 percent target for inflation.

ANKARA

The U.S. Federal Reserve will "almost certainly" raise interest rates in December, Standard & Poor’s Chief Economist Paul Sheard said Wednesday.

Speaking in Tokyo at the Foreign Correspondents’ Association, Sheard said the Fed will find conditions right to justify a rate hike at its monetary policy committee meeting from Dec. 15 to 16.

Earlier this month, Federal Reserve Governor Janet Yellen said a rate hike was a "live possibility" in December.

There was no limit to the bank’s quantitative easing policies for stimulus, he added, although it will take time for the central bank to reach its 2 percent target for inflation.