The Federal Reserve is still waiting for more certainty that inflation is sustainably on its way back down to target levels before officials are confident that their work raising interest rates is done. That context explains why the August CPI report is particularly momentous. The answer will undoubtedly factor into any policy decisions made by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) at its upcoming meeting. Interest rates were left unchanged by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) at their most recent meeting in September 2023. Earlier, at its meeting in July 2023, the FOMC had increased interest rates to 5.25%–5.50%, the 11th rate hike this cycle to combat excessive inflation.

George Ball, chairman of Sanders Morris Harris, says the Fed likely won’t need to raise interest rates again. “This pause was unanimous, and the Fed may stay at this current rate for quite some time. The economy is growing stronger than the Fed thought and no one—not even Powell—knows what they will do in the 4th quarter,” Bolvin says.

CPI rose 4.9% year-over-year in April, down from an annual increase in prices of 5% in March and a 9.1% rise last June. However, the chance of an interest rate hike at the conclusion of the Fed’s subsequent meeting, on November 1, is a little under 1 in 3, suggesting an interest rate hike is still possible, according to the CME’s FedWatch Tool. Consequently, yields are off those highs and strategists at ING at least do not believe the mood is there to push them back up right now. Geopolitical tensions are red hot, and, consumer inflation data for September is a day away. Investors are always eager to get a look at the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s most recent policy meetings. They scour every line and often every punctuation mark, for any sign of a shift in thinking.

The bond market ‘broke down’ after the last FOMC meeting, says JPMorgan’s Bob Michele

Within these numbers, the Fed is looking for services prices to cool and for housing prices to moderate. Energy prices are generally increasing at the moment, which could drive up headline inflation numbers further. But so far, the Fed may be willing to look through more volatile energy prices. The most recent statements from Fed officials have generally discussed patience, risk management and data dependence in managing monetary policy with interest rates already at high levels.

The Chairman holds a press briefing after each FOMC meeting to discuss the FOMC’s policy decisions and to provide context for those decisions. The Chairman also discusses the economic projections submitted by each FOMC participant four times each at the press conference following the last scheduled FOMC meeting of each quarter. The Fed will likely pause on rate hikes and opt to keep the federal funds target rate range between 5.25% and 5.5%. It will also likely continue to allow assets to roll off its $8.1 trillion balance sheet. The most recent disclosure of the Fed’s projections from June, suggested many saw rates moving one notch above their current level in 2023.

  • As a result, the fed funds rate controls the availability of money to invest in houses, businesses, and ultimately in your salary and investment returns.
  • In addition, the Labor Department will release its September jobs report on October 6, which could shed further light on how much of an impact monetary policy tightening is having on the economy.
  • A lot is riding on the outcome of the FOMC meeting that concludes Wednesday.
  • Dating back to 1928, the benchmark S&P 500 has lost an average of 1.1% during September, making it the worst month for the stock market by a full percentage point.
  • A hawk favors higher interest rates to tackle inflation and growth, while a dove favors a lower interest rate to support growth and inflation.
  • According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the consumer price index — a key inflation gauge — rose 6.5% year over year in December 2022.

So, some degree of moderation will be well received by policy makers as a way to help cool inflation – however, not so much that the U.S. economy tips into a recession. The September and December meetings will also include releases of the Fed’s economic projections, including projections for interest rates. In addition, three weeks after each meeting, the meeting minutes will be released. The remaining Federal Reserve decisions on interest rates for 2023 will be announced on September 20, November 1 and December 13. Each meeting will be followed by a press conference from Fed Chair Jerome Powell 30 minutes after the rate announcement. And surely no one can forget that the fastest pace of rate hikes in four decades absolutely clobbered equity markets in 2022.

The bond market is awash in inverted yield curves, for one thing, and that’s not very reassuring at all. The New York Fed’s yield-curve model gives a 66% probability to the U.S. entering a recession over the next 12 months. GDP grew at an annual rate of 2% in Q1, so the quarter-over-quarter expansion is certainly welcome news.

Fed to leave rates unchanged on Sept. 20; cut unlikely before Q2 2024: Reuters poll

A big drop in the lead-up to an FOMC meeting, for example, indicates that the markets are expecting a higher-than-average rate increase. The FOMC conducts open market operations to guide monetary policy, axi forex broker review and increase or reduce the money supply in the U.S. economy. It buys and sells government securities on a day-by-day basis to control the money supply, in a process referred to as open market operations.

Who is on the FOMC?

If the FOMC decides to increase interest rates, demand may increase and the value of the dollar is likely to rise. A full set of minutes for each FOMC meeting is published three weeks after the conclusion of each regular meeting, and complete transcripts of FOMC meetings are published five years after the meeting. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is the monetary policymaking body of the Federal Reserve System. The FOMC avatrade broker review is composed of 12 members–the seven members of the Board of Governors and five of the 12 Reserve Bank presidents. The first month of 2023 has been relatively kind to the stock market, at least compared with 2022. In a speech on September 6, Boston Federal Reserve President Susan Collins said the FOMC may be “near or even at the peak” for interest rates in the current cycle and can “proceed cautiously” moving forward.

When Is the Next Fed Meeting?

Average U.S. wages were up 4.3% from a year ago and up 0.2% compared to July. June, July and August have been the three slowest months for U.S. jobs growth since December 2020. Unfortunately, the Fed still has a long way to go to bring inflation levels back in line with its long-term target of 2%. The central bank will continue to allow up to $60 billion in Treasury securities and $35 billion in agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS) to mature and roll off its balance sheet per month.

The next Fed meeting: what to expect

The resumption of rate hikes followed what was called a “super hawkish” pause at the FOMC’s previous meeting. At these meetings, the Committee reviews economic and financial conditions, determines the appropriate binance canada review stance of monetary policy, and assesses the risks to its long-run goals of price stability and sustainable economic growth. The decision comes as the U.S. economy has been giving mixed signals in recent months.

Richard Saperstein, chief investment officer at Treasury Partners, says additional rate hikes are still on the table, and investors certainly shouldn’t expect a pivot to rate cuts anytime soon. The central bank’s latest economic projections showed one more quarter-point rate hike this year. The release of the FOMC meeting minutes today is keenly anticipated by investors, analysts, and economists who are interested to know more about the world’s biggest central bank’s rate-hike trajectory. Global investors, therefore, pay close attention to the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes.

The FOMC meeting minutes reveal the opinions of Fed members on the terminal rate and the potential Federal Funds Rate trajectory. Of these, November is likely to be the most significant one and may include an interest rate increase. Markets currently anticipate the September and December meetings will hold rates steady.