The Timing Of The Fed’s Remaining 2023 Decisions And What To Expect

The Federal Reserve is half-way through its eight scheduled meetings of 2023. In the first four meetings of this year, it has raised rates 0.75-percentage-points with three hikes at the February, March and May meetings and then a pause in June. The remainder of the year could see fewer, smaller interest rate hikes on the expectations of both the Fed and markets.

July 26 – Rate Rise Highly Likely

Markets expect the Fed to increase interest rates 0.25%-percentage-points on July 26 and statements from Fed officials have generally supported that view. Although inflation came in lower than expected in June, the Fed worries that inflation remains well above their 2% goal and that June’s relatively favorable CPI report is just a single data point, which may not be a trend especially in the context of a tight jobs market.