A top Federal Reserve official said Friday he had seen enough healing in the U.S. labor market to warrant raising interest rates soon.
Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker, who had advocated for a rate hike in June and will have a vote at the Fed’s Sept. 16-17 policy meeting, said the U.S. economy no longer needs interest rates near zero.
“It’s time to align our monetary policy with the significant progress we have made,” Lacker said in prepared remarks titled “The Case Against Further Delay.”
Lacker’s comments came just minutes before the Labor Department was due to release its monthly employment report for August, which was expected to show robust job growth.
