Federal Reserve policymakers just raised interest rates by 25 basis points, as expected. The conclusion of their meeting will be followed by a press conference from Fed Chair Jerome Powell at 2:30pm ET. Watch below:
The June FOMC statement explicitly stated that “additional policy firming” would likely be appropriate given upcoming data. During Powell’s last press conference, he referred to the June decision as a “skip,” implying that further rate hikes could be on the table.
In a speech earlier this month, Fed Governor Christopher Waller outlined the Fed’s likely next move. “I see two more 25-basis-point hikes in the target range over the four remaining meetings this year as necessary to keep inflation moving toward our target,” Waller said.
Data released by the U.S. The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that inflation is moving in the right direction. Inflation fell to its lowest annual rate in more than two years during June, coming in at 3%, just above the Fed’s annual target of 2%.
Since March 2022, the central bank has hiked its benchmark rate a total of 11 times to a range of 5.25%-5.5%, the fastest pace of tightening since the early 1980s.
