Yellen may emulate taper template

Janet Yellen, chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, speaks during a news conference following a Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015. Federal Reserve officials left interest rates unchanged, opting to delay an increase amid stubbornly low inflation, an uncertain outlook for global growth and recent financial-market turmoil. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg Local Caption Janet Yellen

FEDERAL Reserve chair Janet Yellen shows signs of taking a page out of her predecessor’s policy playbook as she inches toward the central bank’s first interest rate increase in nine years: Delay action in September only to move in December.

While the Fed on Thursday opted to keep rates pinned near zero for now, Yellen told a press conference that most policymakers still expect to raise rates this year. She highlighted the strength of the US economy, tying the decision to delay lift-off to fresh uncertainty about the outlook abroad and to financial market turbulence over the past month.