- The Federal Reserve is likely to announce a rate hike to a range of 5.25%-5.5%.
- Investors are paying close attention to upcoming policy updates.
On July 26, Wednesday, the Federal Reserve of the United States is expected to reveal its interest rate decision. At 18:00 UTC (14:00 ET), the Federal Reserve is likely to announce a rate hike to a range of 5.25%-5.5%, followed by a news conference by Chairman Jerome Powell.
According to a poll taken by Reuters among 106 economists, this will likely be the last rate increase for some time. Based on Fed funds futures, investors anticipate the central bank will maintain current interest rates until early 2024.
Based on current projections from the CME Rate Watch tool, the federal funds rate is expected to rise to a range of 525 to 550 basis points. This would be the highest level in around 17 years.
Investors Paying Close Attention
Stocks have risen and investors’ expectations of further tightening have been lowered since the Federal Reserve’s meeting in June as they take into account the robustness of the labor market and the decline in inflation to anticipate a gentle touchdown for the economy.
It’s been strange to see how the crypto market has resisted recent statements about the economy as a whole. Bitcoin’s price has been rather stable over the previous two months, moving between $29,000 and $31,500 with just a few brief spikes around this range.
At the time of writing Bitcoin is trading at $29,303 as per CMC. Lately, the crypto market is consolidating in a tight range, with investors paying close attention to upcoming policy updates.
When the Federal Reserve raises interest rates, borrowers face higher costs, which may make riskier investments less appealing. However, if interest rates were to decline, as they have over the previous decade, this would likely lead to a boost in speculative investments.
