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Fed's December Meeting
News from the FOMC policy statement, interest-rate decision, summary of economic projections, and Jerome Powell's presser.
Last Updated:
Dec. 14, 2023 at 3:57 AM EST
5 months ago
Powell Confirms Fed Has Likely Finished Raising Interest Rates
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank is likely finished with its current round of increases to interest rates, or is near to doing so, though he noted that officials remain vigilant about inflation given the U.S. economy has surprised many times since the Covid-19 pandemic.
“While we believe that our policy rate is likely at or near its peak for this tightening cycle, the economy has surprised forecasters in many ways since the pandemic and ongoing progress,” Powell said Wednesday in a press conference following the December meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee. “Progress toward our 2% inflation objective is not assured.”
In that vein, Powell noted that the Fed is prepared to tighten policy further if appropriate. “We're committed to achieving a stance of monetary policy that is sufficiently restrictive to bring inflation sustainably down to 2% over time,” Powell added.
Powell noted that Fed officials included the word “any” before mentioning additional increases in interest rates in its statement, saying that it was an acknowledgment that while members didn’t see the need for additional increases, at least some participants didn't want to take the possibility of further hikes off the table.