There were very few surprises today as the two-day Fed meeting came to a close. There was a refusal to raise the interest rate from 0.5%, while economic expectations were lowered for both 2017 and 2018.
There were also hints that the current interest rate may hold for longer than previously expected, although there was some positive news regarding the economy. The labor market has slowed, but economic activity seems to have picked up and officials estimated that GDP growth would run at 2% for this year.
Elsewhere, there were very few changes in the unemployment projections, but according to the Fed, this is an area that will “strengthen” very soon.
The markets remained stable in reaction to this news and experts are predicting a 50% chance of an interest rate hike before the end of the year, with news that there will be only one such hike looking all but guaranteed following this two-day meeting.
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