FOMC Interest rate decision (Fed) | News & Analysis

Dollar retreats as Powell leaves door open to a rate cut

LATEST FED MEASURES TO BATTLE INFLATION

Fed's Powell: Restrictive policy needs further time to work

By Pablo Piovano | APR 16, 17:38 GMT

Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell participates in a fireside chat about economic trends in North America at the Wilson Center’s Washington Forum in Washington, DC. Powell said that the U.S. economy's performance has been quite robust. He added that recent data indicates a lack of significant progress on inflation this year. Despite ongoing strength, Powell noted that the labour market is transitioning towards a better equilibrium.

Fed's Goolsbee: Makes sense to wait to get more clarity before moving

By Eren Sengezer | APR 19, 14:39 GMT

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee argued on Friday that it would make sense to wait to get more clarity on the inflation outlook before taking a policy step.

Fed’s Bostic: Rate cuts are likely by year end

By Pablo Piovano | APR 18, 16:24 GMT

Speaking at the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance in Florida on Thursday, Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic noted that U.S. inflation is anticipated to return to 2% at a slower pace than many had anticipated.

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May decision review

Breaking: Fed leaves interest rate unchanged at 5.25%-5.5% as expected

By FXStreet Team | MAY 01, 10:00 GMT

The US Federal Reserve (Fed) announced on Wednesday that it left the policy rate, federal funds rate, unchanged at the range of 5.25%-5.5% following the April 30 - May 1 meeting. This decision came in line with the market expectation.

APRIL decision review

Breaking: FOMC Minutes show concerns over inflation persist

By FXStreet Team | APR 10, 18:04 GMT

During the FOMC Minutes, participants expressed general uncertainty about the persistence of elevated inflation and indicated that recent data did not increase their confidence in inflation trending sustainably towards the 2% target. In addition, officials deliberated over whether the greater risk lies in monetary policy remaining overly restrictive for an extended period or in the Fed easing prematurely and failing to achieve the 2% inflation target.

March decision review

Fed Quick Analysis: Powell pummels US Dollar with five dovish comments Premium

Yohay Elam FXStreet

Party in the USA – for stock markets, gold, everything except the US Dollar. Not only has the Federal Reserve (Fed) left interest rates unchanged, but it has also refrained from changing the median forecast for borrowing costs in 2024.

Fed leaves interest rate unchanged at 5.25%-5.5% as expected

By FXStreet Team | MAR 20, 10:00 GMT

The US Federal Reserve (Fed) announced on Wednesday that it left the policy rate, federal funds rate, unchanged at the range of 5.25%-5.5% following the March meeting. This decision came in line with the market expectation.

January decision review

Fed Quick Analysis: Powell only slaps investors on the wrist, risk-on reversal on the cards Premium

Yohay Elam FXStreet

Markets do not like uncertainty – or the lack of confidence, which the Federal Reserve (Fed) has expressed. A deeper look at the bank's pushback reveals its weakness and could trigger a reversal.

Jerome Powell speaks on policy outlook after deciding to keep interest rate unchanged

By FXStreet Team | JAN 31, 11:00 GMT

The US Federal Reserve (Fed) announced on Wednesday that it left the policy rate, federal funds rate, unchanged at the range of 5.25%-5.5% following the January policy meeting. This decision came in line with the market expectation.

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GBP/USD rises to near 1.2540, driven by higher UK GDP

GBP/USD edged higher to near 1.2540 during Asian hours on Friday, buoyed by the release of higher-than-expected UK Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data for the first quarter.

GBP/USD News

EUR/USD: The crucial resistance level will emerge at the 1.0790–1.0800 region

The EUR/USD pair trades on a softer note near 1.0775 during the early European hours on Friday. The downtick of the major pair is supported by the renewed US Dollar demand amid hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials.

EUR/USD News

Rate cut optimism fuelled by higher US jobless claims

With Federal Reserve policy acting as the primary driver of investor sentiment in 2024, renewed optimism surrounding the possibility of rate cuts has propelled the Dow to its most significant rally since December.

Gold price attracts some buyers despite hawkish Fedspeak

Gold price edges higher for the second consecutive day on Friday. Weak employment data bolstered the speculation that the weakening economy would force the Fed to cut rates.

Gold News

XRP tests support at $0.50 as Ripple joins alliance to work on blockchain recovery

XRP trades around $0.5174 early on Friday, wiping out gains from earlier in the week, as Ripple announced it has joined an alliance to support digital asset recovery alongside Hedera and the Algorand Foundation.

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Signatures

Big Picture

What's important about Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting?

With a pre-set regularity, a nation's Central Bank has an economic policy meeting, in which board members took different measures, the most relevant one, being the interest rate that it will charge on loans and advances to commercial banks.

In the US, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve (FED) meets at intervals of five to eight weeks, in which they announce their latest decisions. A rate hike tends to boost the local currency, as it is understood as a sign of a healthy inflation. A rate cut, on the other hand, is seen as a sign of economic and inflationary woes and, therefore, tends to weaken the local currency.

If rates remain unchanged, attention and also main news and analysis turn to the tone of the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) statement, and whether the tone is hawkish, or dovish over future developments of inflation.

What is the Fed?

The Federal Reserve System (Fed) is the central banking system of the United States and it has two main targets or reasons to be: one is to keep unemployment rate to their lowest possible levels and the other one, to keep inflation around 2%. The Federal Reserve System's structure is composed of the presidentially appointed Board of Governors, partially presidentially appointed Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). The FOMC organizes 8 meetings in a year and reviews economic and financial conditions. Also determines the appropriate stance of monetary policy and assesses the risks to its long-run goals of price stability and sustainable economic growth. FOMC Minutes are released by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve and are a clear guide to the future US interest rate policy.

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How to trade the event?

Do not rely on the Fed to determine the direction of the dollar in the coming months.
The dollar tends to follow its predominant trend when the Fed starts to hike rates.
There is no direct link between the Fed hiking rates and the usd falling. When a weak usd has coincided with a Fed hiking cycle, it has been falling for some time.
Due to this, we may see a muted reaction to a potential Fed rate hike.

WHO IS FOMC'S CHAIRMAN?

Jerome Powell

Jerome Powell took office as chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in February 2018, for a four-year term ending in February 2022. His term as a member of the Board of Governors will expire January 31, 2028. Born in Washington D.C., he received a bachelor’s degree in politics from Princeton University in 1975 and earned a law degree from Georgetown University in 1979. Powell served as an assistant secretary and as undersecretary of the Treasury under President George H.W. Bush. He also worked as a lawyer and investment banker in New York City. From 1997 through 2005, Powell was a partner at The Carlyle Group.

Jerome Powell Fed's Profile and Wikipedia

The World Interest Rates Table

The World Interest Rates Table reflects the current interest rates of the main countries around the world, set by their respective Central Banks. Rates typically reflect the health of individual economies, as in a perfect scenario, Central Banks tend to rise rates when the economy is growing and therefore instigate inflation.