Oil, wages put pressure on Fed

Oil prices are surging and wages are growing at the fastest clip in a year, and economists say that’s reason enough for the Federal Reserve to keep pushing interest rates higher the rest of the year and probably well into 2006 in an effort to keep inflation in check.

When the Fed’s interest-rate policy committee meets Tuesday it is expected to raise its target rate a quarter-point, to 3.5 percent, for the 10th straight time since June 2004.