FOMC: 25bps hike in the offering – Standard Chartered

Sonia Meskin, US economist at Standard Chartered, expects the FOMC to raise the federal funds target rate (FFTR) by 25bps, bringing the upper band to 2.50%, and to raise the rate on excess reserves (IOER) by 20bps to 2.40%.

Key Quotes

“The tone of the statement and press conference is likely to remain cautious on the global outlook and relatively upbeat on domestic outlook.”

“We assign a 50% chance to the median expected FFTR declining to reflect two rather than three hikes in 2019.”

“Only two ‘dots’ would need to move lower for this to happen, and such a move could help to quell market jitters.”