Fed must be sure of data before rate raise: IMF

Ankara

THE US Federal Reserve must be certain that the job market and inflation are strong enough to justify raising interest rates, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said after a Group of 20 meeting focused on the pressure that the increase may place on the global economy.

"The Fed has not raised interest rates in such a long time, that it should really do it for good, not give it a try and then have to come back," IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said at a press conference on Saturday in Ankara. "The IMF thinks that it is better to make sure that data are absolutely confirmed, that there is no uncertainty, neither on the front of price stability nor on the employment and unemployment front, before it actually makes that move."