Fed vice chair says rate hike pause unlikely

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Lael Brainard, the vice chair of the US Federal Reserve, said Thursday it is unlikely for the central bank to pause its monetary tightening and interest rate increases.

"Right now, it’s very hard to see the case for a pause. We’ve still got a lot of work to do to get inflation down to our 2% target," she told US network CNBC.

Stressing that the Fed is using all its tools to bring down record inflation, Brainard said the American economy has "a lot of momentum" and that provides "strength" for the central bank.

Investors and economists are worried that the Fed's hawkish stance and aggressive monetary tightening could cause a recession in the world's biggest economy.

The Fed raised its benchmark interest rates by 25 basis points in March and another 50 basis points earlier this month to tame record inflation.

US consumer inflation climbed to its highest level in more than 40 years with an annual increase of 8.5% in March and 8.3% in April.