美聯儲理事 是否繼續加息取決於多重因素

A continued strengthening in US economic data could clear the way for a second increase in short-term interest rates “fairly soon,” a senior Federal Reserve policymaker has said, as speculation intensifies about the outcome of this summer’s rate-setting meetings.

美聯儲(Fed)一名資深政策制定者表示，如果經濟數據持續走強，那可能爲美國“不久之後”第二次提高短期利率鋪平道路。目前，圍繞今夏議息會議的猜測開始加劇。

Jerome Powell, a member of the Fed’s Board of Governors, said the US still faces a range of risks overseas, including the forthcoming referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU, uncertainties about China’s exchange rate policy, and “stubbornly low” growth and inflation for most US trading partners.

美聯儲理事傑羅姆•鮑威爾(Jerome Powell)表示，美國仍面臨一系列海外風險，包括英國脫歐公投即將到來、中國匯率政策存在不確定性，以及美國大多數貿易伙伴的增長率和通脹率“持續處於低位”。

The vote in the UK could in particular be a factor favouring caution at the June 14-15 meeting, Mr Powell added.

鮑威爾補充稱，尤其是英國脫歐公投，可能會成爲6月14日至15日議息會議上支持謹慎的一個因素。

However, he said in a speech in Washington on Thursday that the US economy had still made “substantial progress” as it remains on track to reach the Federal Open Market Committee’s dual mandate of stable prices and maximum employment.

然而，週四他在華盛頓的一次演說中表示，美國經濟仍取得了“重大進展”，仍然有望達到聯邦公開市場委員會(FOMC)的雙重目標——穩定物價和充分就業。

“Depending on the incoming data and the evolving risks, another rate increase may be appropriate fairly soon,” he said at an event at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. “My view is that a continued gradual return to more normal monetary policy settings will give us the best chance to continue to make up lost ground.”

“取決於即將發佈的數據和不斷演變的風險，不久之後再次加息或許是合適的，”他在彼德森國際經濟研究所(PIIE)舉辦的一次活動上說。“我認爲，繼續逐漸迴歸更正常的貨幣政策，將讓我們獲得繼續收復失地的最佳機遇。”