The prospect of an early US interest-rate increase diminished further yesterday as Janet Yellen advocated caution given unfavourable market conditions, weaker than expected overseas growth and an uncertain inflation outlook.

美国加息前景昨日进一步渺茫。珍妮特•耶伦(Janet Yellen)主张谨慎，理由是市场条件不利、海外增长弱于预期以及通胀前景不确定。

The Federal Reserve chair said recent declines in market expectations for interest-rate rises had helped cushion the US economy from adverse developments overseas, describing the moves as an “automatic stabiliser”.

美联储(Federal Reserve)主席称，近来市场降低加息预期，已经帮助缓解了海外不利事态给美国带来的冲击，她形容这些举动是一种“自动稳定器”。

But she stressed that the Fed had little scope to reverse course and stimulate the economy with rate cuts if the US unexpectedly hit the buffers, underlying the need for a gradual tightening of policy. She homed in on risks still stewing in China and the oil markets as she argued in a New York address for the central bank to move carefully as it considers when to lift rates again.

但是，她强调称，如果美国意外陷入停滞，美联储没有什么空间可以逆转政策进程，通过降息来刺激经济，这突显了逐渐收紧政策的必要性。在纽约发表讲话期间，她着重指出中国以及石油市场仍在发酵的种种风险，并据此主张美国央行在考虑何时再次加息时应该谨慎行动。

Treasuries rallied as Ms Yellen spoke, with traders at CRT Capital calling her remarks a “surprisingly dovish take on the current policy stance and near-term outlook”. The two-year Treasury yield, which moves inversely to its price, slipped 6 basis points to 0.81 per cent.

在耶伦发表讲话后，美国国债上涨，CRT Capital的交易员称耶伦的言论“是对当前政策立场和短期前景的出乎意料的鸽派评估”。两年期国债收益率（与价格走势相反）下滑6个基点，至0.81%。

“Whatever speculation there was on [an April rise] conveyed by previous Fed speakers, that has been blown out of the water,” said Steven Englander, head of rates strategy at Citigroup.

“无论此前美联储官员传达了（有关4月加息的）何种推测，现在都已经烟消云散了，”花旗集团(Citigroup)的利率策略主管史蒂文•英格兰德(Steven Englander)称。

US stocks bounced off lows earlier in the trading day, pushing the benchmark S&P 500 index back into positive territory for the year, while the dollar slid to its lowest levels in a week.

美国股市从早盘的跌势反弹，基准的标普500指数(S&P 500)收市时升至今年最高水平，报2055.01，同时美元汇率下滑至一周来最低水平。