Kansas City Fed President Says Additional Rate Increases 'Appropriate'

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Esther George on Friday said she continues to support increases in short-term interest rates along a "gradual path."

"If you postpone the removal of this accommodation, it can create risk for long-run sustainable growth and financial stability," said Ms. George, echoing a position on rates she has articulated several times. Ms. George isn't currently a voting member of the interest-rate setting Federal Open Market Committee.

Ms. George's remarks are among the first public comments from Federal Reserve officials since the central bank's policy meeting Tuesday and Wednesday, when they indicated they still expect to raise rates again, for a third time this year.

The Fed also said it would begin in October the process of shrinking a $4.5 trillion portfolio of securities purchased to shore up the U.S. economy before and after the financial crisis.

People shouldn't grow overly focused on soft inflation, which has been a boost to consumers whose wages are outpacing the rise in prices, Ms. George said.

Write to Bradley Olson at Bradley.Olson@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 22, 2017 10:54 ET (14:54 GMT)