Fed hurtles towards tough call on size of next interest rate rise

The US Federal Reserve is hurtling towards one of the toughest calls of its monetary tightening campaign as it decides whether to switch back to more aggressive rate rises at a time of acute economic uncertainty. With fresh projections to be released this month, many economists now expect those fore

March 9, 2023 . 10:37 PM

1 min read

The US Federal Reserve is hurtling towards one of the toughest calls of its monetary tightening campaign as it decides whether to switch back to more aggressive rate rises at a time of acute economic uncertainty.
Chair Jay Powell warned the central bank might have to return to half-point rate rises at the conclusion of its next meeting on March 22.
He said the final decision hinged on a series of crucial forthcoming data releases, which will be published either during or just before a “blackout” period when the Fed is all but forbidden from communicating publicly.
Most officials saw the fed funds rate topping out somewhere between 5 per cent and 5.25 per cent in December.
Fresh projections will be released alongside the rate decision this month, with many economists now expecting those forecasts to be revised upwards by at least half a percentage point to 5.5 per cent to 5.75 per cent.