Federal Reserve officials, meeting for the last time under Chair Janet Yellen, left borrowing costs unchanged while adding emphasis to their plan for more hikes, setting the stage for an increase in March under her successor Jerome Powell.
"The committee expects that economic conditions will evolve in a manner that will warrant further gradual increases in the federal funds rate," the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement Wednesday in Washington, adding the word "further" twice to previous language.
The changes to the statement, collectively acknowledging stronger growth and more confidence that inflation will rise to the 2 percent target, may spur speculation that the Fed will pick up the pace of interest-rate increases. Officials also said inflation "is expected to move up this year and to stabilize" around the goal, in phrasing that marked an upgrade from December.
At the same time, the Fed repeated language saying that "near-term risks to the economic outlook appear roughly balanced."
With her term ending later this week after President Donald Trump chose to replace her, Yellen is handing the reins to Powell, who has backed her gradual approach and is widely expected to raise interest rates at the FOMC's next meeting for the sixth time since late 2015. Fed officials are hoping to keep a tight labor market from overheating without raising borrowing costs so fast that it would stifle the economy.
"Gains in employment, household spending and business fixed investment have been solid, and the unemployment rate has stayed low," the Fed said, removing previous references to disruptions from hurricanes. "Market-based measures of inflation compensation have increased in recent months but remain low."
With a gradual pace of rate increases, policy makers want to nudge inflation back up to their 2 percent target, a goal they have mostly missed for more than five years. Even with a brightening outlook for global growth and Fed tightening, financial conditions continue to ease.
What Our Economists Say
The FOMC is more confident in the inflation outlook, but is not looking to deviate from its gradual path of policy normalization. The economic assessment acknowledged straightforward improvements in economic conditions, but the tone in no way hints of concerns about the economy overheating. The Fed is on track to raise rates in March. – Carl Riccadonna and Yelena Shulyatyeva, Bloomberg Economics
The vote by U.S. central bankers to keep the benchmark overnight lending rate in a 1.25 percent to 1.5 percent target range was unanimous. Fed officials also voted to continue with their program to reduce the central bank's balance sheet, which began in October.
The FOMC said in a separate statement Wednesday that it elected Powell as its chairman, effective Feb. 3. He will be sworn in as chairman of the Board of Governors on Feb. 5.
"On a 12-month basis, both overall inflation and inflation for items other than food and energy have continued to run below 2 percent," the FOMC said, removing a previous reference to declines in inflation in 2017.
