The stakes were already high going into this week’s US Federal Reserve policy meeting. But the vertiginous surge in the dollar, alongside disappointing economic data, has heightened uncertainty about Wednesday’s announcement. A few things seem clear: rates are not yet moving from their near-zero levels, but Fed chairwoman Janet Yellen wants to free the Federal Open Market Committee to raise them when it sees fit. As a result, low-rates guidance is likely to be junked. And the strength of America’s labour market — where payrolls have been rising by more than 200,000 a month for a year — means June or September still seem the most likely moments for a first increase. But beyond these presumptions lie a host of questions: will the Fed be forced by low inflation to delay its first rise, how rapidly will it lift rates following the initial move, and where will […]