Global| Mar 20 2019FOMC Leaves Interest Rates Unchanged and Lowers Expected Growth
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The Federal Open Market Committee voted unanimously at today's meeting to leave the federal funds rate target in a range between 2.25% and 2.50%. The action was expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. It was indicated at the [...]
The Federal Open Market Committee voted unanimously at today's meeting to leave the federal funds rate target in a range between 2.25% and 2.50%. The action was expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. It was indicated at the meeting that no further increases in interest rates were likely this year.
The Fed observed that economic activity had slowed from late-last year due to weaker growth in both household and business spending.
On the pricing front, inflation was noted to have cooled due to lower energy costs and stable 2% growth in prices elsewhere.
The Fed released updated projections for economic activity at this meeting. It lowered expected four-quarter growth in real GDP to 2.1% in 2019, 1.9% in 2020 and 1.8% in 2021 from 2.3%, 2.0% and 1.8%, expected earlier. Core PCE price inflation was unchanged at 2.0% during the next three years. The expected unemployment rate was raised to 3.7% in the fourth quarter of 2019, 3.8% at yearend 2020 and 3.9% at yearend 2021 from 3.5%, 3.6% and 3.8%, respectively.
The press release for today's FOMC meeting can be found here.
| Current | Last | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal Funds Rate Target | 2.25% - 2.50% | 2.25% - 2.50% | 1.82% | 1.00% | 0.40% | 0.13 |
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
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