US inflation to rebound next year, says Fed's Fischer

[WASHINGTON] US inflation should rebound next year as pressures related to the strong dollar and low energy prices fade, the Federal Reserve's second-in-command said on Thursday, adding the economy has done well reasonably well thanks in part to a delay in interest rate hikes.

Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer, reinforcing previously stated confidence that more inflation was around the corner, said he expects the central bank's preferred measure to rebound to 1.5 per cent next year and to hit a 2 per cent goal in the"medium term."

"Some of the forces holding down inflation in 2015, particularly those due to a stronger dollar and lower energy prices, will begin to fade next year," he told a conference of researchers and market participants at the Fed Board.

"While the dollar's appreciation and foreign weakness have been a sizable shock, the US economy appears to be weathering them reasonably well, notwithstanding their large effects on certain sectors of the economy heavily exposed to international trade."

REUTERS