(Teleborsa) – The FOMC, the monetary policy committee of the Federal Reserve, as widely expected, has decided to raise interest rates by a quarter of a point, bringing them in a band between 0,75% and 1%.
The last rate hike was at the end of 2015, when the US central bank had launched the exit strategy, which was later interrupted due to the emergence of risks and uncertainties for the global economy.
The Fed also confirms a policy of gradual interest rate hikes, anticipating that there will be another 2 hikes in 2017 and 3 hikes in 2018. An indication that photographs a less “hawkish” and more “dove” Fed, as pointed out by Bill Gross of Janus Capital.
The decision was widely anticipated by President Janet Yellen and by the other FOMC members in the last period and it was almost obvious from the markets.
For this reason the euro/dollar jumped to 1,067 USD tonight (+0,6%), accelerating after the confirmation of a very gradual hike strategy, while Wall Street runs at the highs of the day (S&P 500 +0,67%, Nasdaq +0,58%, Dow Jones +0,46 %).
The US central bank also maintained its growth forecast for the US for this year but raised it slightly for 2018, while remaining far from the goals of the Trump administration. US gross domestic product (GDP) should grow by 2,1% on the year and remain at this level the following year, equal to 0,1 points more than planned, according to the new projections of the Fed's Monetary Policy Committee.
