Almost all of the Federal Reserve’s policymakers said in their latest meeting they expected to push through further gradual increases in interest rates if the economy stays on track, with central bankers gearing up for a further quarter-point rise at their upcoming meeting in December.
A speech from Fed chairman Jay Powell sparked a stock market rally on Wednesday as some investors bet the central bank may not boost rates much more. Yet minutes from the latest policy meeting show that the Fed is ready to increase its target range “fairly soon” — which probably means December — and that there may be more tightening to come in 2019.
At the same time, Fed officials stressed that policy is not on a “preset course”, and in an important shift, policymakers said they are preparing to withdraw their longstanding guidance telling markets to expect further gradual tightening. Instead, they want to move to a more flexible approach and react nimbly to incoming economic data.