Fed's Yellen says economy steady enough for more hikes, bond wind down

The United States is healthy enough to absorb further gradual rate increases and the slow wind down of the massive bond portfolio accumulated by the Federal Reserve during the financial crisis, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said in prepared testimony to be delivered to Congress early on July 12.

In what may be one of her last appearances on Capitol Hill, Yellen depicted an economy that, while growing slowly, continued to add jobs, benefited from steady household consumption and a recent jump in business investment, and was now being supported as well by stronger economic conditions abroad.

The Fed "continues to expect that the evolution of the economy will warrant gradual increases in the federal funds rate over time," Yellen said, while reductions in the Fed's more than $4 trillion in securities are likely to begin "this year."

Yellen was scheduled to present her latest economic summary to the House Committee on Financial Services at 10 a.m. (14:00 GMT), after which committee members will question her. Her appearances before the House panel have sometimes involved sharp exchanges with lawmakers who think the Fed's influence over the economy has grown too large, and who want policymakers to be guided more closely by a mathematical rule for setting interest rates.

In a report released last week the Fed compared its current policy to that prescribed by a variety of such rules - pointing out that the choice of a rule itself involved judgments that would lead to vastly different outcomes. Yellen referred House lawmakers specifically to that section of the report in her testimony.

Yellen's appearance comes as the Trump administration mulls whether to replace her when her term ends in February.

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