Federal Reserve officials expect more rate hikes

The U.S. central bank likely will need to raise interest rates again to curb unacceptably high inflation, two Federal Reserve policymakers said Thursday.

"Returning inflation to 2% is a top priority, and I will support the policy path that gets us there while carefully weighing risks to the labor market along the way," Philadelphia Fed President Anna Paulson told a conference at her regional bank. The voting member of the central bank's rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee described inflation as "stubbornly elevated."

Speaking in London, New York Fed President John Williams also suggested tighter monetary policy ahead. Citing Fed policymaker projections last week that penciled in a rate increase, he said, "it's likely that another rate hike may be appropriate by the end of the year."

The Fed last week raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point, to the 3.75% to 4% range.

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