US Fed officials nod to March rate hike as inflation drumbeat grows louder

The central bank in December announced plans to buy its last tranche of government securities in February, sooner than it had projected just a month earlier.

Federal Reserve policymakers this week signaled they will start raising U.S. interest rates in March to battle inflation that's eroding the value of workers' recent wage gains and putting the policysetters under a political spotlight.

In what were among the last public comments from U.S. central bankers before their next rate-setting meeting, Fed Governor Lael Brainard on Thursday became the latest and most senior U.S. central banker to signal the current era of near-zero interest rates will come to an end after two pandemic-shook years.

The Fed "has projected several rate hikes over the course of the year," Brainard told the Senate