Tricky situation for Fed chair Powell ahead of final policy meeting of 2023
Anything but a categorical denial of interest rate-cut plans will be read by markets as a guarantee that cuts are looming
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US FEDERAL Reserve chairman Jerome Powell has two choices when he meets the world’s media at a press conference on Wednesday (Dec 13) at the central bank’s headquarters in Washington, DC.
He can stick to the script, repeating the rhetoric from recent Fed meetings that promises the central bank is data dependent and still fighting the war against inflation. Or, he could veer off script, and become a Christmas pantomime villain for the bond markets.
What’s almost certain, however, is that the Fed will leave its funds rate unchanged at the 5.25 to 5.5 per cent level for the third straight policy meeting.
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