Another 25 bps Hike Takes Interest Rates to 22-Year High

YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) – During the meeting on July 26, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) raised the interest rates by another 25 bps to 5.5%, a 22-year high. Fed Chair Jerome Powell commented that the Fed remains loyal to its goal to reduce inflation to the “acceptable” 2% and will continue to implement a “data-driven approach” to determining its future actions.

The Chair also commented that the “full effects of the monetary policy are yet to be felt,” citing still elevated core inflation. In detail, the core inflation measures the change in the costs of goods and services but does not include those from the food and energy sectors. It stood at 4.8% in June, against the 3% overall CPI.

Core inflation is still pretty elevated. There are reasons to think it can come down now. But it’s still quite elevated, and we think we need to stay on task and hold the policy at restrictive levels for some time. And we need to be prepared to raise further if we think that’s appropriate.

said Powell during the press conference.

Powell also pointed to a smattering of strong economic data, as well as a recent inflation report that was better than expected. Some analysts and investors are wagering that this rate hike is indeed the Fed’s last, despite Powell keeping further hikes on the table.

Major indexes such as S&P 500 (SPX) pared some of their earlier gains and are ticking lower after Powell’s press conference.

–The article will be updated with further information-