Yellen Says Fed Will Increase Rates Slowly

nytimes.com - WASHINGTON — Janet L. Yellen, the Federal Reserve chairwoman, said on Friday that the Fed planned to raise interest rates more slowly than in past recoveries because of the unusually fragile condition of the American economy.

Fed officials, who have held short-term interest rates near zero for more than six years, have indicated that they plan to start raising the Fed’s key gauge later this year. Ms. Yellen’s remarks, delivered at a conference in San Francisco, offered more details about the Fed’s plans than earlier statements, all part of an effort to prepare markets for the end of that prolonged era.