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The Latest: Yellen still sees gradual pace for rate hikes

FILE - In this Thursday, Nov. 17, 2016, file photo, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, before the Joint Economic Committee. Yellen will be pressed to clarify the Fed’s outlook for interest rates and its view of the uncertainties of President Donald Trump’s economic program when she gives her semiannual testimony to Congress beginning Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017. The Fed is widely expected to hold off on its next interest rate increase until its June meeting. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) FILE - In this Thursday, Nov. 17, 2016, file photo, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, before the Joint Economic Committee. Yellen will be pressed to clarify the Fed’s outlook for interest rates and its view of the uncertainties of President Donald Trump’s economic program when she gives her semiannual testimony to Congress beginning Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017. The Fed is widely expected to hold off on its next interest rate increase until its June meeting. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

By Associated Press February 14, 2017 1 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Latest on Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s testimony to the Senate Banking Committee (all times local):

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10 a.m.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen told Congress that the central bank still expects to raise interest rates at a gradual pace this year but understands the dangers of waiting too long to tighten credit.

Testifying to Congress for the first time since President Donald Trump took office, Yellen referred implicitly to the ambitious economic program Trump has promised. She said the Fed recognizes that sharp changes in tax policy and government spending could influence the Fed’s decisions.

But she says “it’s too early to know what policy changes will be put in place or how their economic effects will unfold.”

Many economists say they think Trump’s stimulus program could cause the Fed to accelerate the pace of its rate increases beyond the three it has said it envisions for this year.