The United States Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate on Wednesday for a fourth time this year but lowered its forecast to two hikes in 2019 amid the recent stock market sell-off and uncertain growth prospects.
United States president Donald Trump has sharpened his attacks on the Federal Reserve, saying it posed the biggest risk to the US economy. He also targeted Fed chairman Jerome Powell, telling the Wall Street Journal he seemed happy to be raising interest rates.
The United States Federal Reserve announced on Wednesday, after a two-day policy meeting, that it would raise interest rates for the third time this year. The decision, which had been widely expected, raised the federal funds rate by 25 basis points, to a range of 2% to 2.25%.
Argentina’s peso currency fell 1.42% to a record low close of 30.92 per dollar on Friday, weighed down by an economy slipping into recession, high inflation and uncertainty driven by corruption investigations.
United States Federal Reserve officials discussed raising interest rates soon to counter excessive economic strength but also examined how global trade disputes could batter businesses and households, minutes of the U.S. central bank’s last policy meeting showed.
Most emerging market currencies worldwide rallied on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump criticized the head of the Federal Reserve for raising interest rates, while Brazil's Real fell to its lowest in more than two years on political concerns.
President Donald Trump cast aside concerns about the Federal Reserve’s independence, saying he was “not happy” with the Fed’s recent interest rate increases. Trump told CNBC in an interview: “I don’t like all of this work that we’re putting into the economy and then I see rates going up.”
Latin American currencies fell against the dollar across the board on Wednesday as traders continued to focus on recent statements by key U.S. monetary policy makers.
A trade war with China, the European Union and other trading partners is casting some doubts about the U.S. economic future, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Tuesday. And the longer it goes, the more potential harm it could cause, Powell told the Senate Banking Committee at a hearing about the Fed's monetary policy and the economy.
The US Federal Reserve raised the benchmark lending rate on Wednesday, the second increase of the year, and signaled it will be more aggressive about rate increases this year and next amid “strong” economic growth. The unanimous vote brings the federal funds rate to a range of 1.75 to 2%, but the quarterly economic forecasts show central bankers now expect the rate to end the year at 2.4% rather than the 2.1% projected in March.