US Federal Reserve
The minutes of the last meeting of the Federal Reserve (the US central bank) on December 12 and 13 showed that bank officials appear to be increasingly convinced that inflation is subsiding in light of diminishing “upside risks” and growing concern about the damage that could be caused by “excessively tight” monetary policy. With economics.
As a result, “nearly all participants indicated that… a lower range… for the federal funds rate would be appropriate by the end of 2024,” the meeting minutes released Wednesday said.
The minutes stated that “a number of participants” highlighted increased uncertainty about how long monetary policy should be maintained in light of the progress made towards reducing inflation.
In a clear indication of the progress they have made in reducing inflationary pressures, for the first time since June 2022, monetary policymakers did not use the phrase “unacceptably high” to describe inflation.
The minutes of the meeting did not indicate a possible date for reducing interest rates.
The US Central Bank kept overnight interest rates unchanged in the range of 5.25 to 5.50 percent at its meeting last month, while new economic forecasts show that most of its officials see the need to reduce borrowing costs by 75 basis points during 2024.
The bank raised interest rates 11 consecutive times since March, by 525 basis points, before it began stabilizing them in the past few months.
2024-01-04 09:38:14
#Fed #decline #inflation #concerns #damage #raising #interest #rates
