Key rates are held at 5.25–5.50% for the fifth consecutive meeting at the US Federal Reserve led by Powell.

Highlights of the US Fed Meeting: For the fifth consecutive meeting, the rate-setting panel led by Jerome Powell maintained interest rates at a 23-year high, but also indicated that it anticipates three rate cuts in 2024.

US Fed Meet Real-Time Reports: The US Federal Reserve in Washington, DC, is seen in this file photo. Karen Bleier/AFP Photo/Files
US Fed Meet Real-Time Reports: The US Federal Reserve in Washington, DC, is seen in this file photo. Karen Bleier/AFP Photo/Files
Highlights of the US Fed Meeting: Following a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the US Federal Reserve issued its interest rate decision today, maintaining the benchmark interest rates at 5.25 to 5.50 percent for the fifth consecutive meeting, in line with Street predictions. But according to the FOMC, three rate cuts are anticipated in 2024.

The policy rate will remain at its 23-year high, as agreed upon by the rate-setting panel, which concluded its second policy-setting meeting of the year.

FOMC members also decided to leave the median interest rate prediction at the midpoint of 4.50 and 4.75 by the end of 2024. This indicates that they still anticipate making cuts of 0.75 percentage points before the year is over, or three cuts of 0.25 percentage points.

Fed policymakers revised their economic projections in tandem with their rate decision, significantly improving the US growth prediction for this year to 2.1 percent from 1.4 percent in December. The Federal Reserve maintained its projection for headline inflation while moderating the estimate for annual “core” inflation, or the price of goods and services excluding energy and food, to 2.6%.

The policy rate has been on hold since July 2023 by the central bank, which raised it by 5.25 percentage points since March 2022 in one of the fastest Fed responses to increasing price pressures.

For the most recent information on the result of the FOMC meeting, follow our US Fed Meeting Live blog.

US Fed Meet Live: The live blog event has come to a close.

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US Fed Meet Live: April/May 2024 will see the next FOMC meeting

The FOMC, chaired by US Fed Chair Powell, will now convene from April 30 to May 1 to discuss potential policy choices.

Key takeaways from Powell’s FOMC meeting are as follows: – Benchmark interest rates remain at 5.25–5.50%, maintaining their 23-year high.

-The Fed continues to anticipate three rate reduction in 2024 even with persistent inflation.

US GDP growth is expected to reach 2.1% in 2024; headline and core inflation rates are expected to stay the same at 2.6% and 2.6%, respectively.

The Fed won’t lower rates until inflation reaches the two percent target in a sustainable manner.

US Fed Meet Live: Following the Fed’s policy decision, US markets

S&P 500 closed above 5,200, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 gained around 1%. The yield on a two-year note fell seven basis points to 4.6%.

-The gain of 321 points, or 0.8%, was recorded by the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

-The US dollar index, which compares the US dollar to six important trading partners, decreased by 0.34 percent.

Canadian currency rises to a six-day high ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s expected rate decrease

Wednesday saw the Canadian currency rise to a six-day high versus the US dollar as investors applauded the Federal Reserve’s decision to maintain its 2024 interest rate-cutting prediction.

US Fed Meet Live: Gold rises on fresh bets on rate cuts following the Fed’s decision

Following the US Federal Reserve’s announcement on Wednesday that they want to cut interest rates by three quarters of a percentage point by the end of 2024, which caused the dollar and Treasury yields to decline, gold increased by more than one percent. Spot gold increased by 1.2% to $2,183.02 an ounce. US gold futures ended the day 0.1% higher at $2,161, as reported by Reuters. The previous week saw a nearly 1% decline in gold prices as expectations for a rate drop were dashed by hotter-than-expected macroeconomic data from February that showed ongoing inflation.

US Fed Meet Live: Following the Fed’s decision, the S&P 500 crosses above 5,200 for the first time.

According to sources, the Federal Reserve kept rates at a 23-year high and maintained estimates for three cuts before the end of 2024, which led to a spike in US stocks on Wednesday and the S&P 500 surpassing the 5,200 level for the first time ever.

According to the most recent projections, the median policymaker believes that the Federal Reserve’s benchmark overnight interest rate will decrease by three-quarters of a percentage point in 2025—less than the one percentage point that was predicted in December as part of a slightly slowed rate cut path—and by the same amount in 2026.