by Zachary Halaschak at Washington Examiner
The Federal Reserve decided to forgo an interest rate hike amid reports showing inflation is cooling and signaled that it will cut rates faster than previously anticipated next year.
After a two-day meeting of its Federal Open Market Committee in Washington, D.C., the central bank announced that it will keep its rate target at 5.25% to 5.50%. The move was expected. The overwhelming consensus among investors is that the Fed is done raising rates and will begin trimming them next year.
INFLATION SLOWS TO 0.9% IN NOVEMBER IN PRODUCER PRICE INDEX
The Fed’s updated projections showed that Fed officials are penciling in about three rate cuts in the coming year.
Still, the current rate target is still the highest it has been since 2006, at the outset of the global financial crisis. The last time the central bank raised rates was in July.
“Inflation has eased from its highs, and this has come without a significant increase in unemployment. That’s very good news,” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said during a press conference on Wednesday. “But inflation is still too high — ongoing progress in bringing it down is not assured, and the path forward is uncertain.”
“As we look ahead to next year,…
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