Fed officials set battle lines on rate hikes ahead of March meet

Reuters: After a long wait for inflation to accelerate, U.S. Federal Reserve officials face a complex and possibly divisive debate over whether recent evidence of rising prices is strong enough to move ahead with planned rate hikes.

In separate statements on Monday, policymakers at the core of that debate staked out starkly different views, with Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer saying economic data now points to the "first stirrings" of inflation, and Fed Governor Lael Brainard countering that the Fed should not move until inflation proves its "persistence."

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