Federal Reserve watchers were largely right. The Federal Open Market Committee again raised the benchmark federal funds rate a quarter point in its July meeting. More important were the clear indications, both in the formal discussion delivered by Fed Chair Jerome Powell and in his answers to questions, that chances remain high, though not absolute, of another rate hike in September.
That leaves the biggest question: Given the inflation slowdown in June, what will it take for them to stop the hikes and what will the new normal look like?
In the formal statement, Powell pointed to indicators suggesting that "economic activity has been expanding at a moderate pace." Slowing to some degree have been consumer spending, activity in the housing sector after higher mortgage rates, and business fixed investment, again due to higher rates.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
