WASHINGTON (Nexstar) – After the Federal Reserve meeting on Wednesday, interest rates will remain stable, at least for now.
The Federal Reserve may not be raising interest rates, but officials say more hikes could still be ahead.
Fed. Chair Jerome Powell said his agency already raised rates significantly, and has “decided to leave our policy interest rate unchanged.”
“The full effects of our tightening have yet to be felt,” he said.
Greg McBride of Bankrate.com says rate hikes work like the brakes on a car.
“At this point, their foot is pretty far down on the brake pedal, even if they don’t push the brake pedal further to the floor, the car is still going to slow down pretty mightily,” he said.
McBride said that slowing the economy helped inflation fall to 3.7%.
“They want to raise rates high enough to get inflation down to 2%,” he said. “But they don’t want to raise it so much that the economy tumbles into a recession.”
So far, despite the rapid interest rate hikes, the economy has defied expectations and remained strong based on factors like job growth.
“My colleagues and I remain squarely focused on our dual mandate to promote maximum employment and stable prices for the American people,” Powell said.
In the meantime, the Federal Reserve is still leaving the door open to future interest rate hikes, as it attempts to get inflation to the target of 2% without triggering a recession.
“So the Feds concern is, with a strong economy and labor market we could see inflation start to perk back up again,” McBride said.
