The US Federal Reserve, led by Jerome Powell, announced at its meeting on January 25-26 that it is "appropriate" to start raising key interest rates "soon" due to persistent inflation above 2% and a robust labor market.

According to the meeting minutesIn a statement released Wednesday, cited by the newspaper Negócios, members of the Fed's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) show that the central bank is ready to move forward with the first interest rate hike in March to control inflation at a time when the economy is close to full employment.

"Most participants noted that if inflation does not move as they expect, it would be appropriate for the Committee to remove accommodative policy at a faster pace than they are currently anticipating," the minutes of the January meeting state.