FOMC Interest rate decision (Fed) | News & Analysis
Fed’s Miran: Warsh is a fantastic pick
Federal Reserve (Fed) Governor Stephen Miran said that he is really excited to see the good work he believes Kevin Warsh will do as Fed Chair after being nominated by President Donald Trump. In an interview with CNBC on Friday, he added he believes Fed officials will receive him well.
Fed’s Bostic: Fed needs to remain vigilant
Federal Reserve (Fed) Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said that inflation is too high and needs to come down, and that the Fed should be more patient for now, in an interview for CNBC.
Fed’s Waller: Labor market remains weak
Fed Board of Governors member Christopher Waller said he dissented in favor of a 25 bps interest rate cut this week because monetary policy is still restricting economic activity too much, in a statement released on Friday.
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AUD/USD holds firm above 0.7000 after China's RatingDog Services PMI
AUD/USD holds higher ground above 0.7000 in Asian trading on Wednesday, supported by the upside surprise in the Chinese RatingDog Services PMI data for January. The Aussie preserves the hawkish RBA-inspired gains, with further upside likely capped by a slight deterioration in risk sentiment.
USD/JPY advances above 156.00 as fiscal, political woes weigh on JPY
USD/JPY trades with a positive bias for the fourth straight day on Wednesday and looks to build on a one-week-old uptrend above 156.00. Concerns about Japan's fiscal health and political uncertainty counter hawkish BoJ expectations, undermining the Japanese Yen ahead of the February 8 snap election, while boosting the pair. However, a softer risk tone could limit losses for the safe-haven JPY and cap the pair amid subdued US Dollar price action.
Gold and silver recovery continues, but equities sink as tech is shunned
The risk recovery is on pause as we move through Tuesday. After signs that a recovery in precious metals could boost overall risk appetite earlier today, a nasty sell off in tech stocks has pushed the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 down by 1.7% and 1.1% respectively.
Gold extends recovery toward $5,050 as US-Iran tensions boost haven demand
Gold price builds on the previous recovery toward $5,050 in the Asian session on Wednesday. The precious metal extends the rebound after a historic and volatile sell-off last week. Traders weigh the next round of US economic signals amid a resurgent demand for safe-haven assets and renewed US-Iran geopolitical tensions.
Why is the crypto market crashing?
Bitcoin and the broader crypto market are experiencing a heavy downturn on Tuesday amid negative sentiment following the latest tech earnings. The top crypto briefly declined more than 5% over the past 24 hours, sliding below $73,500 before quickly recovering above $75,000 at the time of publication. Over the past two weeks, Bitcoin has lost more than 23%, eroding about $401 billion in market capitalization.
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What's important about the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting?
With a pre-set regularity, a nation's central bank holds a monetary policy meeting where board members take different measures, the most relevant one setting the range of the federal funds rate, which greatly influences the interest rate charge on loans and advances to commercial banks.
In the US, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) of the Federal Reserve (Fed) meets at intervals of five to eight weeks to announce their latest decisions. An interest-rate hike increases borrowing costs throughout the economy. This results in a stronger US Dollar (USD) as it makes the US a more attractive place for international investors. A rate cut, on the other hand, tends to weaken the USD.
If rates remain unchanged, the attention, main news and analysis turn to the tone of the monetary policy statement and the press conference from the Fed’s Chair. Markets analyze whether the tone is hawkish or dovish over future developments of inflation.
What is the Fed?
The Federal Reserve (Fed) is the central bank of the United States (US) and it has two main targets: to maintain the unemployment rate at its lowest possible levels and to keep inflation around 2%. The Federal Reserve System's structure is composed of the presidentially appointed Board of Governors and the partially appointed Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). The FOMC organizes eight scheduled meetings in a year to review economic and financial conditions. It also determines the appropriate stance of monetary policy and assesses the risks to its long-run goals of price stability and sustainable economic growth. The FOMC Minutes, which are released by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve weeks after the latest meeting, are a 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.