US economy ready for rate hikes: Yellen

Economy should continue to expand over the next few years, says Fed chair

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said the US economy should continue to expand over the next few years, allowing the central bank to keep raising interest rates, while also stressing the Fed is monitoring too-low inflation.

“Considerable uncertainty always attends the economic outlook,” Yellen said Wednesday in remarks prepared for delivery to the US House Financial Services Committee. “There is, for example, uncertainty about when — and how much — inflation will respond to tightening resource utilisation.”

The S&P 500 was up 16.2 points, or 0.667895 per cent, at 2,441.73 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 56.47 points, or 0.91 per cent,