NewJanet Yellen believes US rate hike appropriate this year

US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said Wednesday that the central bank has no “fixed timetable” for raising interest rates but she believes the economy is ready for a rate hike by the end of the year.

She said during an appearance before the House Financial Services Committee that when the Fed met last week, a majority of her colleagues believed it would be appropriate to raise rates before the end of this year.

The Fed boosted its key policy rate in December 2015 to a range of 0.25 per cent to 0.5 per cent.

But since then, officials have left the rate unchanged. Yellen told the lawmakers that she believed it would make sense to boost the rate again “if things continue on the current path and no significant new risks arise.”

Yellen was testifying on the Fed’s role in regulating the nation’s banking system. She said the financial health of the financial system has strengthened considerably since the 2008 financial crisis, in part because of tougher regulations passed by Congress in 2010.