The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady in a decision released Wednesday, while also indicating it still expects one more hike before the end of the year and fewer cuts than previously indicated next year.
That final increase, if realized, would do it for this cycle, according to projections the central bank released at the end of its two-day meeting. If the Fed goes ahead with the move, it would make a full dozen hikes since the policy tightening began in March 2022.
[CNBC’s Jeff Cox, a reliable analyst on econ matters, reports that the move didn’t come as surprise to investors. It might have surprised a few pundits, though, given the poorer numbers on inflation the past month. We’re still waiting for the Fed’s preferred benchmark on inflation, the PCE price index, which popped up last month. Maybe they want to wait until next month so they can keep an eye on that metric rather than react to the other inflation indexes — or maybe they want to give banks another few weeks to tidy up their balance sheets before the next rate increase. — Ed]
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