BlockBeats News, January 28 — The Federal Reserve will announce its interest rate decision tomorrow (Thursday) at 3 a.m. EST, with the previous rate at 3.75% and the forecast also at 3.75%. Jerome Powell will hold a press conference on monetary policy 30 minutes later. The market widely expects the Fed to keep rates unchanged after three consecutive rate cuts. According to CME “FedWatch,” the probability of a 25 basis point rate cut in January is 2.8%, while the probability of holding rates steady is 97.2%.
Because the market has already widely anticipated that the Federal Reserve will hold steady and officials are not expected to release new economic forecasts this week, investors will carefully analyze Powell’s remarks for hints on how long policymakers expect to keep rates unchanged. Morgan Stanley Chief Economist Michael Gapen expects a dovish tilt.
The Wall Street Journal reporter Nick Timiraos, known as the “Fed Whisperer,” stated that Fed officials are expected to keep rates unchanged this week for the first time since three consecutive rate cuts since September last year. The question is, what circumstances would prompt the Fed to initiate another rate cut.