News Briefs

According to the Wall Street Journal, Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen said that the Fed will need to continue gradually raising interest rates in order to sustain the current economic expansion, but that rates will not have to rise to levels seen in prior expansions. Yellen also stated that the Fed will begin shrinking its balance sheet if the economy continues to move in a positive direction. WSJ

Nick Timiraos of the Wall Street Journal writes that members of the Council of Economic Advisers under past presidents from both parties have warned against the current administration’s potential steel tariffs. The group of economists warned that steel tariffs would both harm the U.S. economy and relations with key trading partners such as Mexico, Canada, and Brazil. WSJ

The Financial Times reports that U.S. oil exports are expected to quadruple within three years and will exceed exports from most members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (“OPEC”). Although U.S. exports have climbed steadily since the lifting of the export ban in 2015, the U.S. still imports roughly 8 million barrels of oil a day due to differences between the quality of American and foreign oil. FT