With inflation uncomfortably high and the COVID-19 Delta variant raising economic concerns, a divided Federal Reserve meets today to discuss when and how it should dial back the short-term interest rate policies that are currently at near-zero.
However, expectations are that the policies will hold steady, which will switch the focus to the Fed’s balance sheet policy, where the central bank has been snatching up about $120 billion in U.S. Treasuries and agency mortgage-backed securities each month. It’s expected that the group will address questions about plans to eventually slow the pace of those purchases.
The Fed statement is due at 2pm EST with Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s press conference set to kick off at 2:30 pm EST.
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