The December projections showed a more aggressive monetary policy tightening path, with the median “dot” rising to a new peak in federal fund rates of 5-5.25% up from 4.5-4.75% in September. Investors pay close attention to these forecasts, which show where each of its 19 leaders expect interest rates to go in the future, for clues about the path of rate hikes in the new year and beyond. The Fed also released its highly anticipated Summary of Economic Projections, which includes what is colloquially known as the dot plot. While lower than the four consecutive three-quarter-point hikes approved at the Fed’s previous meetings, Wednesday’s rate hike is still twice the size of the central bank’s customary quarter-point increase and will likely deepen the economic pain for millions of American businesses and households by pushing up the cost of borrowing even further.įed officials will increase the rate that banks charge each other for overnight borrowing to a range of 4.25-4.5%, the highest since 2007. The increase marks a shift for the central bank after an unprecedented year that includes seven-straight rate hikes as part of an aggressive campaign to try and bring down the highest inflation since the early 1980s. The Federal Reserve approved a half-point interest rate hike on Wednesday, a smaller increase than in recent months and an acknowledgment that inflation is finally easing.

Next federal reserve meeting 2022