美聯(lián)儲很可能周三加息

Janet Yellen, the Federal Reserve chair, is likely to set in train an acceleration in the pace of interest rate increases on Wednesday as the US central bank responds to an economy that is hitting maximum employment and inflation that is nearing target.

美聯(lián)儲(Fed)主席珍妮特•耶倫(Janet Yellen)很可能會從本周三開始加快升息步伐，其背景是美國央行對美國經(jīng)濟(jì)達(dá)到最高就業(yè)水平且通脹接近目標(biāo)做出回應(yīng)。

An increase in short-term rates by a quarter point is probable at the meeting following a parade of signals by key policymakers in recent weeks. But with jobs data on Friday beating Wall Street expectations, previously sceptical traders are now betting that the Fed will be able to deliver on December forecasts for a total of three increases this year — with some analysts projecting four rises.

在關(guān)鍵政策制定者最近幾周發(fā)出一系列信號后，美聯(lián)儲很可能會在周三開會時將短期利率上調(diào)25個基點。但由于上周五的就業(yè)數(shù)據(jù)超過華爾街預(yù)期，之前持懷疑態(tài)度的交易員現(xiàn)在認(rèn)為，美聯(lián)儲將能夠兌現(xiàn)去年12月提出的今年加息3次的預(yù)測，一些分析師甚至預(yù)測會加息4次。

The Fed’s decision this month to deliberately and rapidly shift market expectations to a March increase underscores the strength of the US data and also the influence of buoyant financial conditions shown by the blockbuster rally in the stock market.

美聯(lián)儲本月決定刻意且快速地引導(dǎo)市場預(yù)期3月加息，突顯出美國經(jīng)濟(jì)數(shù)據(jù)的強勁以及股市飆升所顯示的高漲金融狀況的影響。

President Donald Trump, who has sought to claim credit for the economy’s growth, accused Ms Yellen in his campaign for keeping interest rates low to burnish Barack Obama’s legacy.

希望把經(jīng)濟(jì)增長歸功于自己的美國總統(tǒng)唐納德•特朗普(Donald Trump)，曾在競選期間批評耶倫把利率維持在低位是為了給巴拉克•奧巴馬(Barack Obama)的政治遺產(chǎn)增色。

But the Fed chair got a boost from the White House on Sunday when Gary Cohn, a senior economic adviser to the president, said the Fed “has been doing a good job”.

然而耶倫周日獲得了白宮的支持，當(dāng)時特朗普的高級經(jīng)濟(jì)顧問加里•科恩(Gary Cohn)表示，美聯(lián)儲“一直做得不錯”。

Strikingly, the Fed’s stance does not yet appear to have been heavily influenced by the prospects of a fiscal loosening by Congress.

值得注意的是，美聯(lián)儲的立場似乎還未受到美國國會放松財政政策前景的重大影響。