What is the Fed’s outlook right now?
The Fed remains singularly focused on bringing down inflation.
Although the recent Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) takeover of a couple of banks has added some uncertainty, the Fed is still pushing ahead with trying to slow consumer demand. At their recent meeting on March 21, they raised the federal funds rate by 25 basis points (bps) to the median level of 4.875% — their ninth straight hike. They have plans to increase the overnight rate by another 25 bps this year. They made no hints of rate cuts for later this year.