Fed officials hint at rake hike ahead of Yellen speech

NEW YORK

Two of the Federal Reserve officials hinted Thursday that a raise in the bank's benchmark interest rate would come soon.

"I do think it is time to move that rate,” Kansas City Fed President Esther George told CNBC in an interview. “I agree in a gradual movement in the rates, but under conditions where we are seeing employment moving higher with stable inflation.”

George, who is a voting member on the Federal Open Market Committee, emphasized that strong jobs numbers in the last two months show there would be wage growth in the economy that suggests consumers will be in a good position to spend.

The U.S. economy added 255,000 jobs in July and 292,000 in June, rising the three-month average to 190,000 from 147,000.

George said the economy moved slower through the first half of the year but "there is every reason to think that we could see a 2 percent economy for this year as a whole," she said, and argued that the economy could still see a 3 percent growth in the second half.

Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan also told CNBC progress is being made on employment, and the economy would grow stronger for the remainder of this year.

"I think, in the not so distant future ... we are moving toward being able to take another step," he said on a possible rate hike, while declining to say when he believed it would come.

The remarks by the presidents come before Fed Chair Janet Yellen's much-anticipated speech Friday at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, where central bankers, finance ministers and participants from financial markets around the world meet annually in the state of Wyoming.

Yellen's speech will be watched closely by the markets and investors will look for signals about if and when the next rate hike would come.

NEW YORK

Two of the Federal Reserve officials hinted Thursday that a raise in the bank's benchmark interest rate would come soon.

The U.S. economy added 255,000 jobs in July and 292,000 in June, rising the three-month average to 190,000 from 147,000.

Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan also told CNBC progress is being made on employment, and the economy would grow stronger for the remainder of this year.

"I think, in the not so distant future ... we are moving toward being able to take another step," he said on a possible rate hike, while declining to say when he believed it would come.

Yellen's speech will be watched closely by the markets and investors will look for signals about if and when the next rate hike would come.