The US Federal Reserve announced on the 22nd that it would raise the target range of the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to the level of 4.75% to 5%. After raising interest rates for the ninth consecutive time, the Federal Reserve hinted on the same day that the current round of interest rate hikes was nearing the end. The Federal Reserve issued a statement after a two-day regular monetary policy meeting. Regarding the recent banking turmoil, the statement emphasized that "the US banking system is sound and resilient.". In addition, the statement did not mention the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and deleted the phrase "it is expected that it will be appropriate to continue to raise interest rates". According to the statement, recent indicators indicate moderate growth in spending and production in the United States, employment growth has rebounded and maintained a strong momentum, and the unemployment rate remains low. Recent banking developments may lead to tighter credit conditions for households and businesses, and put pressure on economic activity, employment, and inflation. The extent of these impacts is uncertain. The Federal Reserve remains highly concerned about inflation risks. The statement said that in order to support the goal of achieving full employment and a longer-term inflation rate of 2%, the Federal Reserve has decided to raise the target range of the federal funds rate to between 4.75% and 5%, and will closely monitor upcoming data and assess its impact on monetary policy. The Federal Reserve expects that some additional policy tightening may be appropriate to form a sufficiently restrictive monetary policy stance. When determining the extent of future interest rate hikes, the Federal Reserve will consider the cumulative tightening of monetary policy, the lagging impact of monetary policy on economic activity and inflation, and economic and financial development. The Federal Reserve will continue to reduce the size of its balance sheet. On the same day, the Federal Reserve also released a summary of economic forecasts that have received much attention from financial markets. Compared to the summary in December last year, the Federal Reserve lowered the median GDP growth expectations for this year and next year by 0.1 and 0.4 percentage points, respectively, to 0.4% and 1.2%, and increased the inflation expectations for this year and next year and the median core PCE price index by 0.1 percentage points, respectively, to 3.6% and 2.6%. In addition, the bitmap of the interest rate hike path in the summary shows that the federal funds rate is expected to reach 5.1% by the end of 2023, which is consistent with the median forecast of Federal Reserve officials in December, indicating that the current rate hike will end after another rate hike this year. At a press conference after the regular monetary policy meeting, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell emphasized that "we are committed to restoring price stability". Currently, the inflationary pressure in the United States remains high. When asked if the Federal Reserve was concerned that further interest rate hikes would further exacerbate the plight of the banking industry, he said that the Fed's real concern was macroeconomic results, and the credit crunch caused by banking problems had the same effect as interest rate hikes to some extent. The latest forecast shows that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates again. The three major indexes in the US stock market changed from positive to negative after Powell's speech. As of the close of the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 530.49 points, or 1.63%, to 32030.11; The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 190.15 points, or 1.60%, to 11669.96; The Standard&Poor's 500 stock index fell 65.90 points, or 1.65%, to 3936.97. Bloomberg News quoted investment strategists as saying that Powell's speech was milder than before, but still slightly more pronounced
Edit：Hou Wenzhe Responsible editor：WeiZe
Source：chinanews.com
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