The day of the US Federal Reserve meeting

The two-day meeting of the US Federal Reserve on monetary policy ends today, and the expectation of its outcome keeps volatility in the markets at a low level. 

Investors are closely following events in Washington in search of clues about future interest rate policy. 

There is a general opinion that the Fed will leave the rate unchanged at the current meeting, and therefore the main attention is focused on the upcoming press conference of Chairman Jerome Powell and the updated economic forecasts from the central bank. In early March, Powell expressed the opinion that the Fed is not far from gaining the confidence to reduce inflation necessary to start lowering the rate.

Nevertheless, the latest data on inflation in the United States, which exceeded expectations last week, prompted market players to reconsider expectations for a rate cut this year. Now it is expected to decrease by 75 basis points, while at the beginning of the year they expected a step of 150 points.

In this regard, the June meeting of the Fed will be the object of special attention. According to surveys, most economists expect the Federal Reserve to cut the key interest rate in June, although the probability of this event has decreased from almost 60% to 53%.