The Federal Reserve is expected to keep interest rates unchanged after its meeting end on Wednesday, according to a new report.
Bloomberg detailed that concerns about the economic impact of the war in Iran, particularly on inflation, along with a stable job market, could lead Fed members to keep its benchmark rate between 3.5% and 3.75%.
Such worries were already present in the last meeting, when some Fed members wanted the central bank to signal it could even raise rates in future meetings, but didn't get enough support to do so. Ever since, the consumer price index climbed, largely as a result of soaring energy prices.
The outlet went on to predict that it is unlikely that officials will give clear guidance about future decisions.
Another aspect dominating the conversation is the fact that this could be Jerome Powell's last meeting as Fed chair. The nomination of Kevin Warsh got much closer to becoming a reality after Republican Senator Thom Tillis said he will support his nomination following the Department of Justice's dropping of a criminal investigation on Powell.
Speaking on NBC News, Tillis said "we worked a lot over the weekend to make sure that we were very clear that we have assurances from the DOJ that I needed to feel like they were not using the DOJ as a weapon to threaten the independence of the Fed."
"So this will allow Mr. Wash to move on with his confirmation on time," Tillis added.
The lawmaker had been saying he would not vote to advance Warsh as the investigation continued, preventing him from getting the necessary votes to get confirmed.
On Friday, federal prosecutor Jeanine Pirro announced that the Inspector General for the Federal Reserve was asked to "scrutinize the building costs overruns" of the Fed's headquarters, which were at the center of allegations against Powell.
Should he be confirmed, Warsh would take office amid doubts about his independence: a new survey conducted by CNBC showed that 46% of respondents believe he will only be somewhat independent or not independent at all.
The outlet noted that while the figure is high, confidence in his independence is 13 points higher than in the previous poll, suggesting his confirmation hearing where he vowed to maintain the central bank independent may have convinced some people.
