IMF tells Fed to wait until 2016 to hike rates

Fund says keeping rates lower for longer would provide ‘valuable insurance’

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IMF's Christine Lagarde

The Federal Reserve should only raise interest rates in the first half of 2016, the IMF said today (June 4), as tightening too soon could lead to an embarrassing "policy reversal" further down the line.

The Fund expects inflation, currently at 0.1%, to start rising later this year, but only climb back to 2% by the middle of 2017. It also pointed to "subdued" participation and "high levels" of part-time work as indicative of slack in the labour market.

"There is a strong case for waiting to raise

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