FOREX TradingCharts.com

Financial News: Fed Officials Prefer Careful Approach To Rate Decisions

Fed Officials Prefer Careful Approach To Rate Decisions Amid Inflation Risks

01/08/2025 - 14:38:00 (RTTNews)

(RTTNews) - Many Federal Reserve officials believe a careful approach to interest rate decisions will be necessary over the coming quarters, according to the minutes of the central bank's December monetary policy meeting.

The minutes said the careful approach will be needed due to a variety of factors, including increased upside risks to the outlook for inflation due in part to uncertainty about the impact of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's proposed policies.

Fed officials still expect inflation to continue moving toward 2 percent but noted the effects of potential changes in trade and immigration policy could lead to the process taking longer than previously anticipated.

They subsequently agreed that the Fed was "at or near the point at which it would be appropriate to slow the pace of policy easing."

The minutes said officials also agreed it would be appropriate to continue to move "gradually toward a more neutral stance of policy over time," with some observing that the policy rate was now significantly closer to its neutral value after cutting rates by 100 basis points since September.

A substantial majority of participants also observed that the Fed was well positioned to take time to assess the evolving outlook for economic activity and inflation.

At the December meeting, the Fed voted to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 4.25 to 4.50 percent, although the vote was not unanimous.

Cleveland Fed President Beth M. Hammack voted against the rate cut, preferring to leave rates unchanged in a range of 4.50 to 4.75 percent.

The minutes said a vast majority of participants believed the rate cut would help maintain the strength in the economy and the labor market while continuing to enable further progress on inflation.

However, some said there was merit in keeping rates unchanged due to an increase in the risks of persistently elevated inflation in recent months.

The Fed's first monetary policy meeting of the new year is scheduled for January 28-29, with CME Group's FedWatch Tool currently indicating a 95.2 percent chance the central bank will leave rates unchanged.

For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com

Copyright(c) 2025 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved

Market News provided by RTTNews

RECENT INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL NEWS


Ireland Property Price Inflation Slows For Third Month (07 hr(s), 35 min(s), 11 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - Residential property price inflation in Ireland eased for the third month in a row in ...Full Story»

Poland Industrial Output Recovers; PPI Falls At Slower Pace (08 hr(s), 56 min(s), 11 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - Poland's industrial production recovered in December on a rebound in mining and qu ...Full Story»

Iceland Jobless Rate Surges To 3.9% In December (09 hr(s), 07 min(s), 11 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - Unemployment rate in Iceland climbed sharply to a three-month high in December after e ...Full Story»

UK Budget Deficit Surges On Interest Payments (09 hr(s), 30 min(s), 11 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - The UK budget deficit more than doubled in December largely due to interest payments, ...Full Story»

Malaysia Central Bank Holds Key Interest Rate Steady At 3% (09 hr(s), 46 min(s), 11 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - Malaysia's central bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged on Wednesday as ...Full Story»

South Africa Inflation Climbs For Second Month, Retail Sales Growth Improves (09 hr(s), 53 min(s), 11 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - South Africa's consumer price inflation accelerated for a second straight month in ...Full Story»

UK Budget Deficit Widens In December (14 hr(s), 46 min(s), 11 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - The UK budget deficit more than doubled in December from the last year as increases in ...Full Story»

South Korea Consumer Confidence Improves In January (15 hr(s), 39 min(s), 11 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - South Korea's consumer sentiment increased for the first time in three months in J ...Full Story»

Search

INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL NEWS

Ireland Property Price Inflation Slows For Third Month

01/22/2025 - 09:46 AM (RTTNews)
(RTTNews) - Residential property price inflation in Ireland eased for the third month in a row in ...Full Story>>

Poland Industrial Output Recovers; PPI Falls At Slower Pace

01/22/2025 - 08:25 AM (RTTNews)
(RTTNews) - Poland's industrial production recovered in December on a rebound in mining and qu ...Full Story>>

Iceland Jobless Rate Surges To 3.9% In December

01/22/2025 - 08:14 AM (RTTNews)
(RTTNews) - Unemployment rate in Iceland climbed sharply to a three-month high in December after e ...Full Story>>

UK Budget Deficit Surges On Interest Payments

01/22/2025 - 07:51 AM (RTTNews)
(RTTNews) - The UK budget deficit more than doubled in December largely due to interest payments, ...Full Story>>

Malaysia Central Bank Holds Key Interest Rate Steady At 3%

01/22/2025 - 07:35 AM (RTTNews)
(RTTNews) - Malaysia's central bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged on Wednesday as ...Full Story>>

Do not sell my personal information

Copyright © 2025. All market data is provided by Barchart Solutions. Information is provided "as is" and solely for informational purposes, not for trading purposes or advice. To see all exchange delays and terms of use, please see disclaimer.