Fed Closes Year with Interest Rate Hike

As predicted by virtually everybody, even itself, the United States Federal Reserve lifted its benchmark interest rate by 0.25 to a maximum 1.5% at its December meeting. While offering perhaps its most positive assessment of the US economy in a decade, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) struck a relatively cautious tone for next year, signalling the likelihood of three rate hikes in 2018, not four. With a changing of the guard imminent at the top of the Reserve, such forecasting becomes somewhat trickier. This decision on rates marked the final public hurrah for Chair Janet L. Yellen, who steps down in February in favor of Jerome Powell, once he is confirmed (which is a foregone conclusion). Already a Fed governor with influence on the interest rate policy, Mr. Powell is widely thought to hew closely to the established path. However, most investors (in a recent Evercore ISI poll) believe he will be more of an increase hawk. For her part, Ms. Yellen said she sees no...

from GoldBroker.com https://www.goldbroker.com/news/fed-closes-year-with-interest-rate-hike-1244