El-Erian says this week's Fed meeting to set stage for June hike

Mohamed El-Erian, the chief economic adviser at Allianz SE , said on Monday he expects this week's Federal Reserve policy-setting meeting to set the stage for a June interest rate hike. El-Erian told Reuters: "Fed officials may even be tempted to hike as early this week though this remains a lower probability event." The Federal Open Market Committee is due to meet Tuesday and Wednesday and then next on June 14-15. "Notwithstanding the headwinds from abroad, the Fed is likely to hike this year a