More cuts are coming, the forecasts of central bankers showed, but there was a wide dispersion of predictions for when those cuts would show up and how many would be appropriate. New Federal Reserve governor Stephen Miran on Friday revealed that he was the outlier on the "dot plot," penciling in a total of six cuts this year. But Fed officials, by and large, were less aligned than in previous forecasts.
In some ways, the meeting whose outcome was largely predicted also confused investors with mixed messages. As often happens when we get what we want, we ask what's next — and a satisfactory answer isn't immediately obvious.
The Fed, for instance, upgraded its growth outlook but flagged a weakening labor market with downside risks, suggesting that the priority for policymakers is to protect jobs, even as inflation persists above target levels. Two more cuts are likely this year, according to the Fed's "dot plot."
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Identifying as Mr. Helpful
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