Fed ‘minutes’ reveal end of tightening cycle

The Federal Reserve recently released the ‘minutes’ from its last meeting, lending insight into the near-term future of American monetary policy. The minutes reveal some uncertainty as to when the Fed will stop raising interest rates, which currently stand at 4%. Prior to the release of the minutes, investors had priced in 3 additional rate hikes, which would lift the benchmark federal funds rate to 4.75%. However, it appears the Fed is becoming increasingly nervous that economic growth is slowing. As a result, interest rate futures indicate that investors now believe there is a 68% chance that the Fed will stop tightening at 4.5%. Likewise, currency traders are reevaluating their forecasts for the USD, which will further suffer if the ECB moves to close the interest rate gap between the EU and the US. Bloomberg News reports:

“Yield is playing an important part in currency Markets,” said Greg Gibbs, senior currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets in Sydney. “The dollar will give up some of its strength.”

Read More: Dollar May Weaken After Fed Signals Rate Increases to End Soon