Fed says US economy strong enough for rate increase

Washington

FEDERAL Reserve policy makers inserted language into their October statement to stress that "it may well become appropriate" to raise the benchmark lending rate in December and largely agreed that the pace of increases would be gradual, minutes of the meeting showed.

"Members emphasised that this change was intended to convey the sense that, while no decision had been made, it may well become appropriate to initiate the normalisation process at the next meeting," said minutes of the FOMC's Oct 27-28 meeting, released on Wednesday in Washington.