YELLEN on U.S. ECONOMY - U.S. Interest Rate Hike Likely During End of 2016

Gold prices have fallen for the second straight day and hit a one-week low, pressured by earlier strength in the US dollar and as investors assessed Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's testimony before a congressional committee.

Yellen was thrust into the election-year boxing ring during the hearing, defending the central bank's regulatory role and considering changing the annual stress tests it gives to US banks to see if they can withstand a massive financial crisis. "We also have Friday's US inflation reading, which is the bank's preferred measure of inflation and if that shows tick up towards the two per cent target, it would give more confidence to markets that the Fed will move to raise rates in December," said Mitsubishi Corp analyst Jonathan Butler.

Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen on Wednesday said the financial condition of the top U.S. banks has "strengthened considerably" since the financial crisis as she outlined steps the central bank is considering to make bigger banks have larger cushions and have smaller banks face less stringent requirements. The eight largest global systemically important banks have seen an increase of nearly $800 billion in common equity capital since 2008, Yellen said. "We must carefully monitor the impact of the regulatory changes we have made and remain vigilant regarding the potential emergence of new risks to financial stability," Yellen said in prepared remarks before the House Financial Services Committee. Yellen made no mention of the recent Wells Fargo WFC, +0.49% scandal in her prepared remarks. Unemployment jobs employment job U.S. USA America "United States" Interest "Interest Rate" economist economy policy bank banking "Bank Account" Savings "Savings Account" Rate Rates 2016 2017 risk reward finance "Stock Market" Stocks Trading "Binary Options" Gold Silver Bullion "Sell Gold" "Silver Coin" Vault business loan debt "Credit Card" Credit action speech news media entertainment trends trending

Yellen's testimony follows the Federal Reserve's decision last week to hold steady on the federal funds rate at 0.25 percent to 0.5 percent.

Eventually, she said, continued job creation at the pace it has been running would cause the economy to overheat. If this happens, the Fed could be forced to raise rates faster than policymakers would like to, she added.

The Fed has been accused of letting politics affect monetary policy, but Yellen said she was not aware of any contact between Fed Governor Lael Brainard and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

Yellen was speaking as part of her semiannual testimony before the House Financial Services Committee about financial regulation. Investors have been watching Yellen's comments closely for clues about any potential changes to the timing of the next rate hike. The Fed raised rates last December for the first time in nearly a decade but has held firm since then. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump redoubled his attack on the Federal Reserve and its chairwoman, Janet Yellen, accusing the central bank of “doing political things” by keeping interest rates low.

“When they raise interest rates, you’re going to see some very bad things happen, because they’re not doing their job,” Trump said during a debate with Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, accusing the Federal Reserve of being “more political” than his rival.