– This is the script of CNBC's news report for China's CCTV on March 1, Wednesday.
Welcome to CNBC Business Daily, I'm Qian Chen.
The Fed chorus about a possible March interest rate hike is getting much louder.
Four Fed presidents spoke Tuesday, and all indicated an interest rate hike could be considered in March.
Speaking to CNBC, FOMC voting memeber and Dallas Fed President, Robert Kaplan, said a tightening could come soon.
[ROBERT KAPLAN | PRES & CEO, DALLAS FED RESERVE | DALLAS] "WE'RE MAKING GOOD PROGRESS ON OUR EMPLOYMENT OBJECTIVE. WE'RE MAKING GOOD PROGRESS ON INFLATION. MY OWN FORECAST FOR 2017 IS GROWTH IN EXCESS OF 2%. EVEN BEFORE POTENTIAL POLICIES THAT COULD PROVIDE SOME UPSIDE. SO IN THAT CONTEXT, I THINK WE'RE GETTING CLOSER TO REACHING OUR DUAL MANDATE OBJECTIVES AND WE SHOULD BEGIN THE PROCESS OF REMOVING ACCOMMODATION. I THINK EVEN AFTER WE DO THAT, WE'LL STILL BE ACCOMMODATIVE, BUT I THINK WE SHOULD BE TAKING STEPS TO REMOVE SOME AMOUNT OF ACCOMMODATION SOONER RATHER THAN LATER."
The latest Federal Reserve official to push the the group's March meeting into play was New York Fed President William Dudley, viewed as a close ally of Fed Chair Janet Yellen and a central figure in the Federal Open Market Committee. Dudley said on CNN International Tuesday afternoon that the "case for monetary tightening has become more compelling."
Treasury yields shot up after Dudley's comments. The 2-year yield reached 1.28 percent, its highest level of the year, and well off the day's low of 1.16 percent. The 2-year note is the most sensitive to Fed rate hikes.
Odds got even higher as more Fed presidents chimed in about a March hike. By some measures, the market odds for a March hike jumped to about 70 percent from just over 30 percent one day ago.
Now, inflation data scheduled for Wednesday could be a key factor in driving even more momentum toward a March hike. While the Consumer Price Index has been risen well above 2 percent, the Fed's preferred measure of inflation has lagged. The headline personal consumption expenditure price data could now show an increase of 2 percent for the first time in nearly five years when it is released at 8:30 a.m. ET Wednesday.
The other data the Fed will view as key for a March hike is the February employment report, expected on March 10. Labor has been a strong pillar for the economy, and if that report shows consistent job growth, the Fed could have the all clear, barring some unforeseen event.
CNBC's Qian Chen, reporting from Singapore.