The U.S. Federal Reserve said June 14 that it will likely hold off on issuing an interest rate hike next week, but hinted that further increases could resume in June.
In its monthly Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) release, the central bank said it decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at its current 5% to 5.25% in support of its long-term goal to seek maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2%.
The Fed said holding the current interest rate range will provide the committee with time to assess additional information and its implications for monetary policy. Such a pause would snap a streak of 10 straight committee meetings that have resulted in increases in the key interest rate.
However, the FOMC statement added that the committee would be prepared to adjust the stance of monetary policy as appropriate “if risks emerge that could impede the attainment” of those aforementioned goals. The risks the Fed are keeping a close eye on include labor market conditions, inflation pressures and expectations, and financial and international developments.
The Fed noted indicators pointing to modest economic expansion, robust job gains and low unemployment, while inflation remains elevated.
Looking forward, the committee’s projections of appropriate monetary policy — known as the “dot plot” — showed that nine of its 18 members foresee two more rate hikes yet this year; four expect one; two expect three; and one expects four. Only two members indicated they don’t expect any more hikes in the rest of 2023.
Further out, the committee’s forecasts for the next two years project a fed funds rate of 4.6% in 2024 and 3.4% in 2025 — up from earlier estimates of 4.3% and 3.1%.
The Fed will meet next on July 25-26.
The FOMC statement came hours after the U.S. Labor Department reported that May producer prices eased sharply from to a 1.1% year-over-year gain, the smallest such increase in 28 months and down from April’s 2.3% bump.
Related Posts
-
The central bank lifted rates by a quarter of a percentage point but indicated it…
-
The company says fees will be adjusted to reflect 'significant investments that we’ve made to…
-
The New York Federal Reserve's monthly Global Supply Chain Pressure Index fell to a negative…