Federal Reserve Raises Rates by 0.25 Points and Hints at Possible Conclusion to Rate Hiking
The Federal Reserve has approved its 10th interest rate increase, raising its benchmark borrowing rate by 0.25 percentage point to 5%-5.25%, the highest since August 2007. However, the Fed has hinted that the current tightening cycle is at an end, with the statement omitting a sentence present in the previous statement saying that "the Committee anticipates that some additional policy firming may be appropriate" for the Fed to achieve its 2% inflation goal. Though central bank officials insist that the industry as a whole is stable, an expected tightening in credit conditions and heightened regulations ahead are expected to weigh further on economic growth.
The statement from this week's meeting also reiterated that economic growth has been "modest" while "job gains have been robust" and inflation is "elevated." Markets are anticipating that slower growth and the possibility of recession will force the Fed to cut rates later this year.
On Friday, Federal Reserve officials breathed a sigh of relief as April’s job data revealed a cooling in wage growth and hiring rates that hark back to pre-COVID-19 days.