Fed Chair Janet Yellen has indicated she’d like to begin the rate increases sometime in 2015, though she says that weak economic data could cause the Fed to delay. The Fed has held short-term rates near zero since late 2008 in an effort to end the Great Recession and to strengthen the recovery.
Perhaps more important than when the Fed raises rates is how large the subsequent increases are and how quickly they come. Yellen has said she expects increases to be gradual and modest.
