A continued strengthening in US economic data could clear the way for a second increase in short-term interest rates “fairly soon,” a senior Federal Reserve policymaker has said, as speculation intensifies about the outcome of this summer’s rate-setting meetings.

美联储(Fed)一名资深政策制定者表示，如果经济数据持续走强，那可能为美国“不久之后”第二次提高短期利率铺平道路。目前，围绕今夏议息会议的猜测开始加剧。

Jerome Powell, a member of the Fed’s Board of Governors, said the US still faces a range of risks overseas, including the forthcoming referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU, uncertainties about China’s exchange rate policy, and “stubbornly low” growth and inflation for most US trading partners.

美联储理事杰罗姆•鲍威尔(Jerome Powell)表示，美国仍面临一系列海外风险，包括英国脱欧公投即将到来、中国汇率政策存在不确定性，以及美国大多数贸易伙伴的增长率和通胀率“持续处于低位”。

The vote in the UK could in particular be a factor favouring caution at the June 14-15 meeting, Mr Powell added.

鲍威尔补充称，尤其是英国脱欧公投，可能会成为6月14日至15日议息会议上支持谨慎的一个因素。

However, he said in a speech in Washington on Thursday that the US economy had still made “substantial progress” as it remains on track to reach the Federal Open Market Committee’s dual mandate of stable prices and maximum employment.

然而，周四他在华盛顿的一次演说中表示，美国经济仍取得了“重大进展”，仍然有望达到联邦公开市场委员会(FOMC)的双重目标——稳定物价和充分就业。

“Depending on the incoming data and the evolving risks, another rate increase may be appropriate fairly soon,” he said at an event at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. “My view is that a continued gradual return to more normal monetary policy settings will give us the best chance to continue to make up lost ground.”

“取决于即将发布的数据和不断演变的风险，不久之后再次加息或许是合适的，”他在彼德森国际经济研究所(PIIE)举办的一次活动上说。“我认为，继续逐渐回归更正常的货币政策，将让我们获得继续收复失地的最佳机遇。”