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What Today’s FOMC Meeting Statement Told Us

This is a syndicated repost published with the permission of Money Morning - We Make Investing Profitable. To view original, click here. Opinions herein are not those of the Wall Street Examiner or Lee Adler. Reposting does not imply endorsement. The information presented is for educational or entertainment purposes and is not individual investment advice.

 

There was no big surprise from the FOMC meeting statement today after the U.S. Federal Reserve ended its closely watched two-day policy meeting.

As widely expected, the Fed left interest rates unchanged. Heading into the meeting, market odds of a rate hike at today’s Fed gathering were just 7.2%, according to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.

Here are the key highlights from the November FOMC meeting

FOMC Meeting Statement’s Biggest Takeaways

  • Policymakers decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 0.25% to 0.50%.
  • The case for an interest rate hike has increased. But the U.S. central bank has decided to wait for more evidence of continued progress toward its full employment and inflation objectives.
  • The Fed’s monetary policy stance remains accommodative. It wants to support further improvement in the labor market and an inflation rate of 2%.
  • The Fed said the labor market continues to show strength even though the unemployment rate has held steady in recent months.
  • Inflation has increased modestly since the start of the year. Still, it remains below the FOMC’s 2% objective. Declines in energy prices and non-import prices have had an impact here.
  • Near-term risks to the economic outlook appear mostly “balanced,” according to the Fed. Policymakers continue to closely monitor inflation indicators and global economic and financial developments.
  • As for as future interest rate hikes, the Fed will keep a close eye on economic activity and inflation. While the Fed wants to raise rates slowly, it says it will remain accommodative in doing so.
  • The most notable piece in the FOMC meeting statement was that the number of dissenters was reduced to two from three. Ester George and Loretta J. Mester preferred to hike rates. Eric Rosengren, meanwhile, turned more dovish.

Every word in the Fed’s statement will be picked over for days for clues of when we can expect the next interest rate hike. Market odds of a rate hike in December were 68.4% prior to the meeting. Following the FOMC meeting statement, the odds rose to 71.5%.

 

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The post What Today’s FOMC Meeting Statement Told Us appeared first on Money Morning – We Make Investing Profitable.

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