The Federal Reserve is set to raise interest rates by a quarter-percentage point on Wednesday to a 22-year high, with most investors focused on what it would take for the central bank to lift rates again later this year.
Economic growth has likely been too firm in recent months for Fed Chair Jerome Powell to signal that Wednesday’s increase in the Fed’s benchmark short-term rate will be the last of the current tightening cycle, as investors anticipate. The recent slowdown in inflation also makes it hard for central bank officials to firm up plans for any additional rate increase.
The central bank will announce its decision at 2 p.m. Eastern time. Powell will answer questions from reporters at 2:30 p.m. Officials won’t release quarterly interest-rate and economic projections after their two-day meeting this week.
Read the full story on The Wall Street Journal here.