Inflation and War Fuel Rate Hike Support

Federal Reserve official Susan Collins stated that her support for last week's rate hike was influenced by two significant factors. One was stubbornly high inflation, which has been a persistent issue in the US economy. The other factor was the renewal of combat in the Middle East in August, which added to the uncertainty and volatility in financial markets.

Collins, who is the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, expects that interest rates will remain unchanged next year. She also supported the Fed's decision to raise its benchmark interest rate by a quarter-point to about 3.9% last week.