IMF warns Fed to postpone rate hike until 2016

The International Monetary Fund has urged policymakers in the US to delay hiking interest rates or face a further bout of "financial instability".

Markets are currently pricing a  first interest rate rise at some point this year from the Federal Reserve, though the once-consensus forecast of a June hike has again been pushed further back. However, the IMF has used its annual review of the US economy to warn the Fed's credibility is at stake over the decision. There are still "significant uncertainties as to the future resilience of economic growth," it said. "Raising rates too soon could trigger a greater-than-expected tightening of financial conditions or a bout of financial instability, causing the economy to stall. This wo...