Billionaire Warren Buffett said he does not expect the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates anytime in 2015 due to the strong U.S. dollar and the global uncertainty. He stated this while discussing several topics in an interview on the Fox Business Network on Wednesday.
"It'd be very tough for the Fed to raise rates. That would exacerbate the problem. I don't think it'll be very feasible to do. I think it would have a lot of international repercussions," Buffett said in the interview with Fox Business while discussing the U.S. economy.
Buffett, chairman and CEO of investment manager Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. (BRKa, BRKb), stated that with the currency close to the highest level in more than a decade, it has become cheaper for Americans to buy imported goods.
Also, annual inflation is running well below the Fed's 2 percent target.
Despite concerns expressed by Buffett and others, the Fed is likely to raise interest from near zero, possibly as early as June.
Rates have been near zero since December 2008. The strong dollar has also pushed long-term US Treasury yields to record lows.
Buffett added that the last asset he would want to buy is a 30-year government bond as the US 30-year debt traded at 2.22 percent on January 30, the lowest yield since at least 1977 when the Treasury began regular sales of the securities.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com