Many are questioning the Federal Reserve’s credibility after a Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announcement was deemed “ridiculous” and “incredible” over its forecast. Some are now wondering when the next interest rate hike will happen.
One Federal Reserve official says he will be advocating for another one as soon as April.
Speaking in an interview with Market News International (via Zero Hedge), San Francisco Federal Reserve President John Williams confirmed that he will be pushing for another rate hike as early as next month’s FOMC meeting. If not April then June, depending on how well the U.S. economy is doing.
“All else equal, assuming everything else is basically the same and the data flow continues the way I hope and expect, then April or June would definitely be potential times to have an increase in interest rates,” Williams said.
He added, according to the report, that there is no justification of delaying any further rate hikes due to an improving Fed-manipulated labor market and rising inflation.
Williams did partly blame the rest of the world for the Fed not raising rates fast enough.
“If you just looked at this in isolation, the U.S. economy is looking great,” he said. “In a vacuum, if it weren’t for global factors, we would be raising rates sooner and I think more quickly than we are because of the global factors and because of the uncertainties around that at the zero lower bound.”
Late last year, Fed Chair Janet Yellen announced that the central bank sees interest rates at 1.375 percent by the end of 2016. In 2017, the Fed expects 2.375 percent and in 2018 3.25 percent.
Welcome to recession 2017 once the FED raises interest rates.
Home and Car sales will go down for sure. I have stopped using my credit cards. Savings rates have gone nowhere, but all of my CC interest rates have gone up. Help the bankers and screw the middle class once more. Get everyone hooked on credit because wages have not gone up compared to prices and then charge them more. There is no inflation, I know that because I did not get a COLA in Jan 2016. So there is zero reason to raise rates. Is the FED doing this so when we enter recession they can lower interest rates and look good. The FOOLS!