BENGALURU—The Federal Reserve will wait until 2023 before raising interest rates, according to a majority of economists in a Reuters poll who nonetheless said the greater risk for the U.S. economy was persistently higher inflation over the coming year. While half the members of the U.S. central bank’s policy-setting committee projected last month that the Fed would raise its benchmark overnight lending rate—federal funds rate—next year, most economists surveyed were more cautious. The poll was conducted Oct. 12–18. “We continue to expect the Fed to remain patient. We continue to forecast no liftoff for the funds rate until late 2023, but exact timing will depend critically on how the outlook evolves as more data are reported,” said Jim O’Sullivan, chief U.S. macro strategist at TD Securities. Forty of 67 economists said the fed funds rate would rise from its current level of 0–0.25 percent in 2023 or later, with most …