Chief US central banker Janet Yellen suffers health scare during speech
The world's most powerful central banker, US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen, abruptly stopped a speech on inflation and was treated by medical staff after an episode put down to dehydration.
Yellen had been delivering a speech at a US university when she appeared to lose her concentration and cough.
She resumed talking but seemed to stutter, before saying "Let me stop there".
The audience applauded as Michael Ash, chairman of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst's economics department, came on stage and asked "Are you ok?".
Soon after she walked slowly off stage and medics were seen near the backstage doors. One was carrying oxygen equipment.
"Chair Yellen felt dehydrated at the end of a long speech under bright lights," Fed spokeswoman Michelle Smith said.
"As a precaution, she was seen by (emergency medical) staff on site at UMass Amherst. She felt fine afterwards and has continued with her schedule Thursday evening."
The University said she attended a dinner as planned.
The speech was the 60-year-old's first since the Fed opted to keep rates on hold at near-zero levels, where they have been since the height of the financial crisis.
Prior to the episode, she said the US was on course to raise interest rates this year.
The upbeat comments helped trigger a rally in stock markets on Friday morning.
Additional reporting by Reuters
