Fed Plans to Raise Rates in 2018 but Lacks Consensus on Frequency
- 6 years ago
Fed Plans to Raise Rates in 2018 but Lacks Consensus on Frequency
The decision at that meeting to raise the benchmark rate into a range between 1.25 percent
and 1.5 percent reflected the Fed’s optimistic expectations for the economy, the account said.
But six officials predicted two hikes or fewer and four officials predicted the Fed would raise rates at least four times.
An account of the Fed’s final meeting of 2017, which the central bank published Wednesday, said officials generally agreed
that the Fed should continue to raise its benchmark rate in the new year.
Six of the 16 officials on the Federal Open Market Committee predicted during the December meeting that the Fed would raise rates three times in 2018.
In the December round of economic projections, the median forecast of Fed officials was
that the economy would grow 2.5 percent in 2018, up from a median forecast of 2.1 percent in September.
The decision at that meeting to raise the benchmark rate into a range between 1.25 percent
and 1.5 percent reflected the Fed’s optimistic expectations for the economy, the account said.
But six officials predicted two hikes or fewer and four officials predicted the Fed would raise rates at least four times.
An account of the Fed’s final meeting of 2017, which the central bank published Wednesday, said officials generally agreed
that the Fed should continue to raise its benchmark rate in the new year.
Six of the 16 officials on the Federal Open Market Committee predicted during the December meeting that the Fed would raise rates three times in 2018.
In the December round of economic projections, the median forecast of Fed officials was
that the economy would grow 2.5 percent in 2018, up from a median forecast of 2.1 percent in September.