Several Federal Reserve officials who spoke on Wednesday said labor market worries continue to animate their belief that rate cuts still lie ahead for the central bank. "I've been clear that I think we should be cutting at the next meeting," Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said in an interview with CNBC, reiterating the view he has held for some time and led him to dissent at the late July Fed meeting in favor of an easing. "You want to get ahead of having the labor market go down because usually when the labor market turns bad, it turns bad fast," he said. He added that a rate...
Federal Reserve officials in January agreed they would need to see inflation come down more before lowering interest rates further, and expressed concern about the impact President Donald Trump's tariffs would have in making that happen, according to meeting minutes released Wednesday. Policymakers on the Federal Open Market Committee unanimously decided at the meeting to hold their key policy rate steady after three consecutive cuts totaling a full percentage point in 2024. In reaching the decision, members commented on the potential impacts from the new administration, including chatter...
The Bank of Japan could hike interest rates by as soon as May, ING analysts said in a Monday note, as gross domestic product data showed the economy grew much more than expected in the fourth quarter of 2024. A May rate hike could come especially if springtime wage negotiations between major Japanese labor unions and employers yields another year of bumper hikes. Strong wage hikes in 2024 were a key motivator of the BOJ's ongoing rate hike cycle, as Japanese private consumption and inflation picked up sharply through most of 2024. The BOJ expects this trend to continue in 2025,...
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Wednesday the central bank has not been cut off from any data it needs to do its work. Speaking before a House panel as the Trump administration has been stripping government websites from various data sets, Powell he wasn't aware of losing anything the Fed needs, while saying he'd speak up if issues emerged. Powell was also asked about outside access to critical systems the Fed and the Treasury Department use to process government payments and Powell noted access to these tools is done "very carefully." Many observers have grown concerned about...
Jerome Powell, Chairman of the United States (US) Federal Reserve (Fed), repeated that they do not need to be in a hurry to adjust the monetary policy in his prepared remarks for delivery on the first day of his testimony on the semi-annual Monetary Policy Report before the Senate Banking Committee. "Policy is well-positioned to deal with risks, uncertainties." "We can maintain policy restraint for longer if economy remains strong and inflation does not move toward 2%." "We can ease policy if labor market unexpectedly weakens or inflation falls more quickly than expected." "The US is...
The Bank of England (BoE) is expected to take a measured approach in adjusting its monetary policy, with Barclays (LON:BARC) analysts predicting that the central bank will hold off on more aggressive rate cuts until mid-year. While the BoE recently reduced the Bank Rate by 25 basis points to 4.5%, the decision exposed a rare divergence among policymakers. Two members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted for a more substantial 50-basis-point cut, signaling a growing faction within the committee that favors a more proactive approach to easing. Despite this dissent, Barclays...
President Donald Trump said he would fire Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors if she does not resign her post over mortgage-fraud accusations from a top...
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) maintained its cash rate at 4.1% during its April meeting, holding borrowing costs unchanged after slashing 25 bps in the February meeting, aligning with market...