FED kept the policy interest rate unchanged on Wednesday, as expected, and attention quickly turned to critical data and macroeconomic indicators that could significantly influence future rate decisions. The US PMI data, known to affect the Fed’s interest rate decision, was also just announced.
FED Holds Policy Rate Steady
Markets were focused on the FED‘s interest rate decision announced at 22:00 Turkey time on Tuesday, January 31st. The strongest expectation in the markets was that the FED would keep interest rates steady, which was indeed the case.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell made a live broadcast press statement at 22:30 following the announcement of the interest rate decision. In his press statement, Powell made significant remarks about a potential interest rate cut before the next FED meeting.
In his statement, Powell indicated that if the economy develops as expected, the policy interest rate might be reduced this year. However, he also signaled that the current policy rate could be maintained for a longer period if necessary.
US PMI Data Announced
Perhaps the most critical statement yesterday was Powell’s following words.
If inflation rises again at this point, it would be a surprise. We expect inflation to not only reach 2% but to stabilize there. We have been receiving good inflation data for 6 months, and expectations are for more to come.
Based on today’s meeting, I don’t think we will cut interest rates in March. There are risks that may require us to cut interest rates more slowly or more quickly.
One of the indicators that affected the FED‘s interest rate decision, the US PMI data, was also just announced. The Manufacturing PMI,
- Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (Manufacturing PMI) (January) Announced: 50.7 (Expectation: 50.3 Previous: 47.9)
While the data was being announced, cryptocurrency investors were also keeping an eye on Bitcoin. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at the level of $42,500, indicating a 1.1% decrease over the last 24 hours.
