Fed expected to hold rates steady this week

Summarised from CNBC's report · Updated 27 Oct, 12:20 · Archive

The Federal Reserve is expected to leave interest rates unchanged at its policy meeting this week.

The Federal Open Market Committee will release its rate decision on Wednesday. Markets overwhelmingly expect no change in benchmark interest rates following September's quarter percentage point increase, according to CNBC reporting.

Investors will scrutinise signals from Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh about future policy direction. Brett Ryan, senior U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank, expects Warsh will signal that recent inflation data reinforce expectations that further tightening will likely be needed over time. Ryan noted that skipping a rate move in October allows officials more time to assess trends in the data.

Recent inflation data has offered little relief from price pressures. The consumer price index showed the annual rate at 3.7% in September, driven largely by soaring energy prices. Core CPI, which strips out volatile gas and groceries costs, pointed to a 2.6% rate—still well above the Fed's 2% target and heading in the wrong direction after climbing 0.3 percentage points from August. The housing market continues to struggle under pressure from mortgage rates above 7%.

Read the report

• Fed expected to hold rates steady, but Warsh may point way to more hikesMarkets overwhelmingly expect no change in benchmark interest rates following September's increase.CNBC · 27 Oct, 11:06

In this story: Federal Reserve · Kevin Warsh · Brett Ryan · Deutsche Bank · United States

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log