As rising prices and the spread of new Covid-19 variants increase risks to the US economy, Federal Reserve officials are expected to maintain their easy money policies intended to help American companies and workers survive the pandemic damage.
But as the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) begins its two-day policy meeting Tuesday, markets and traders will be watching for hints of when it will begin tapering its massive monthly debt purchases.
The bond buying program aimed to ease lending conditions during the crisis, but has come under scrutiny recently as inflation has soared to record levels as businesses reopen and consumers spend the savings built up during the worst months of the pandemic. And focus also will be on any sign the Fed is rethinking its pledge to keep the benchmark lending rate at zero until the economy achieves maximum employment.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell has repeatedly said the rise in inflation is a temporary effect of the economy getting back to normal, and that the Fed has tools to respond if the surge goes on too long.
But Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research said the swiftness of the price spike likely has surprised the central bank.
“I think they’re still saying it’s transitory but they’re squirming in their seats, feeling a bit anxious that the numbers have come in higher than expected,” he said.
However, the Fed is not expected to alter its stimulative policies this week or at any point this year.
Powell has promised to communicate clearly in advance of any policy shift, and analysts believe he may wait to do that at the annual central banking conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming scheduled for August.
Troubled recovery: Central bankers are convening during an uncertain moment for the world’s largest economy.
The fast-spreading Delta variant of Covid-19 has prompted some parts of the United States to reimpose mask-wearing rules and sparked worries it could undermine the recovery.
When international labor community was observing International Labour Day, scores of illiterate laborers in Pakistan…
A delegation of Pakistani elite youth which recently visited Urumqi, Kashgar, and Atush said that…
A delegation comprised over 15 participants from the Economic Cooperation Organization Science Foundation (ECOSF) including…
The Committee on Science and Technology of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (COMSTECH) has partnered…
A cross-firing between two rival groups on Model Town Link Raod claimed the life of…
A woman with the help of her lover kidnapped her own son in Narowal, police…
Leave a Comment