U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is preparing the market for an eventual liftoff for interest rates.
Yellen told members of the House Financial Services Committee Wednesday morning that it will be appropriate to raise rates later this year -- as long as the job market continues to improve.
Fed chairs testify twice a year before the House and Senate. Yellen's last appearance was in February. She will face questions from the House later Wednesday morning and will speak to the Senate on Thursday.
Many economists and Wall Street strategists expect the Fed to announce a rate hike at its September meeting. Yellen, in her prepared remarks before the House, did not specifically say rates would go up in September. But she strongly hinted that rates will go up sooner rather than later.
Yellen once again dismissed the weakness in the economy during the first quarter. She referred to it as a "soft patch" due to "transitory" factors. She and several other Fed members have been saying that for months.
She conceded that problems in Greece and China could hurt the U.S. economy, calling the situation in Greece "difficult" and that China "continues to grapple with the challenges posed by high debt, weak property markets, and volatile financial conditions."
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