FED nods to gradual rate increases

Testifying before the U.S. House of Representatives' Financial Services Committee, Powell acknowledged the economy had strengthened recently as the U.S. unemployment rate is at a 17-year low of 4.1%.

He said the Federal Open Market Committee would continue to strike a balance between avoiding an overheating economy and bringing price inflation to 2% on a sustained basis. The Fed is expected to push through its first rate increase of 2018 at its next policy meeting in March.