Fed keeps cards close to its chest over next rate move
Chairman Kevin Warsh gives no indication whether the US central bank will raise rates again.
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The chairman of the US Federal Reserve is not committing for now on the next interest-rate decisions. Fed chairman Kevin Warsh said on Friday that he did not want to pre-empt the October and December meetings, while interest rates and inflation in the United States remain high, according to the news agency.
Warsh made his remarks during a conversation with IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva in Bangkok. The news agency reports that he said the Fed would continue to focus on price stability, but gave no indication of the outcome of the forthcoming policy meetings.
The central bank raised its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point in September, to approximately 3.9 per cent. According to Associated Press, this was the first increase in three years. The move was intended to curb demand and bring inflation down.
US inflation remains stubbornly high, according to the reports. This increases pressure on the Fed to raise interest rates again, but higher rates can also slow economic growth and the labour market. Warsh therefore said he did not want to prejudge future decisions.
For financial markets, the caution means that new economic data will remain important. The news agency describes how investors are trying to infer from inflation, labour-market and consumer-spending data whether the central bank will raise rates further or instead pause.
The uncertainty is also having effects beyond the United States. US interest-rate decisions affect the dollar, international capital flows and the financing costs of companies and governments. For Dutch businesses, changes in exchange rates and international credit markets may have consequences; the precise effects depend on the next Fed decisions.
The source does not report a new rate increase during the meeting in Bangkok. The news is instead that the Fed chairman is not committing himself. Expectations of a next step therefore remain market estimates, not a policy decision.
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Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The article uses one independent news report that confirms the remarks, the September interest rate and the context. Expectations about future interest rates are presented as uncertain, not as fact.
- confirmed Kevin Warsh gave no indication of the October and December interest-rate meetings. — Reported by Associated Press. source
- confirmed The Fed raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point in September, to approximately 3.9 per cent. — Mentioned in the Associated Press report. source
- confirmed Higher interest rates can curb demand and economic growth. — The source describes this as the policy aim of the rate increase; the wording in the article remains general. source
Editor's note
The interest rate of approximately 3.9 per cent after the September increase and Warsh's caution have been confirmed. Future interest-rate developments remain uncertain.Sources
- Fed chair Warsh pledges price stability but avoids hints about rates — Associated Press
More on this in Dutch media
- NRC — „fed rente”
- NOS — „fed rente”
- Het Parool — „fed rente”