Washington

THREE US central bankers speaking on Monday left little doubt that they favour interest rate increases, though they indicated the pace of monetary tightening is uncertain amid questions about the impact of President-elect Donald Trump's fiscal policies.

Speaking just before they enter a quiet period on Tuesday ahead of their Dec 13-14 meeting in Washington, Federal Reserve Bank of New York president William Dudley and his Chicago and St Louis counterparts Charles Evans and James Bullard said at separate events that they're close to achieving their dual mandate of full employment and 2 per cent inflation.