The Federal Reserve today concluded its July monetary policy conclave and voted unanimously to increase its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point to a range of 5.25% to 5.50%, the highest in 22 years. The move was widely expected by market participants given recent projections and comments from various officials, including chairman Powell during the inter-meeting period.
Today's adjustment came after a brief hiatus last month. Policymakers had hit the pause button in June to buy time to study the impact of past actions on the economy, which can be unpredictable. For context, the FOMC has delivered 525 basis points of tightening since March 2022, undertaking one of its most aggressive hiking cycles in decades to defeat inflation
The fast and furious normalization campaign seems to be paying off. Headline CPI peaked at 9% last summer, but now stands at 3.0% year-on-year. While the directional improvement is welcome, it should not be mistaken for mission accomplished, especially with the core indicator sitting near 5.0% and showing extreme stickiness.
Today's adjustment came after a brief hiatus last month. Policymakers had hit the pause button in June to buy time to study the impact of past actions on the economy, which can be unpredictable. For context, the FOMC has delivered 525 basis points of tightening since March 2022, undertaking one of its most aggressive hiking cycles in decades to defeat inflation
The fast and furious normalization campaign seems to be paying off. Headline CPI peaked at 9% last summer, but now stands at 3.0% year-on-year. While the directional improvement is welcome, it should not be mistaken for mission accomplished, especially with the core indicator sitting near 5.0% and showing extreme stickiness.
Trade closed: target reached