AlQa'dah 14, 1436, August 29, 2015, SPA -- The Federal Reserve is leaving the door open to hiking its benchmark interest rate in September, the central bank's vice chairman indicated Saturday, despite speculation the Fed could hold off amid turmoil in global markets, dpa reported. The central bank is eyeing US employment and inflation as it considers its first tightening of monetary policy since the crisis. Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said in remarks in Jackson Hole, Wyoming said that the Fed should not wait until inflation reaches its 2 per cent goal to begin increasing rates. He said there were good indications that inflation would rise. At the Fed's most recent meeting in July, policymakers indicated they were awaiting further economic improvements before hiking its benchmark Federal Funds rate from an unprecedented near-zero range, notes from the meeting showed earlier this month. Analysts have said turbulence in world markets amid fears about the economic outlook in China could prompt the Fed to hold off on increasing rates. Fischer said central bankers were looking at the international situation, particularly developments in China, as they consider their next move. "We need to consider the overall state of the US economy as well as the influence of foreign economies on the US economy as we reach our judgment on whether and how to change monetary policy," he said. "That is why we follow economic developments in the rest of the world as well as the United States in reaching our interest rate decisions. At this moment, we are following developments in the Chinese economy and their actual and potential effects on other economies even more closely than usual."
