As
expected,
the
Federal
Open
Market
Committee
of
the
U.S.
Federal
Reserve
on
Wednesday
left
its
benchmark
fed
funds
rate
range
unchanged
at
5.25-5.50%.
Also
pretty
much
as
expected,
the
FOMC
acknowledged
that
progress
on
lower
inflation
has
stalled
this
year
and
said
it
wouldn’t
be
appropriate
to
trim
rates
until
it
has
greater
confidence
inflation
is
moving
“sustainably”
towards
2%.
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The
price
of
bitcoin
(BTC)
has
bounced
modestly
in
the
minutes
since
the
news
hit,
but
remains
under
pressure,
down
more
than
4%
for
the
session
at
$58,000.
In
addition
to
the
rate
news,
the
FOMC
announced
it
is
slowing
the
reduction
of
Treasuries
held
on
its
balance
sheet
–
the
so-called
quantitative
tightening
(QT)
–
from
$60
billion
per
month
to
just
$25
billion
per
month.
Other
things
being
equal,
the
move
is
likely
to
boost
risk
appetite
and
asset
prices,
wrote
economist
Joseph
Brusuelas.
Markets
came
into
2024
expecting
a
long
series
of
rate
cuts
from
the
U.S.
central
bank,
but
those
hopes
have
been
whittled
down
sharply
over
the
past
few
weeks
as
the
economy
continues
to
show
strength
and
inflation
has
actually
risen
a
bit
in
the
year’s
first
four
months.
According
the
CME
FedWatch
tool,
markets
(prior
to
today’s
Fed
decision)
were
pricing
in
a
nearly
25%
chance
of
zero
rate
cuts
this
year.
One
month
ago,
there
was
just
a
1%
chance
of
no
Fed
easing
in
2024.
That
change
in
expectations
has
weighed
a
bit
on
traditional
markets,
with
the
Nasdaq
lower
by
about
5%
since
hitting
its
2024
high
about
three
weeks
ago
and
the
S&P
500
off
by
a
similar
amount
since
touching
its
year-to-date
high
in
late
March.
It’s
also
likely
contributed
to
the
plunging
bitcoin
price,
which
is
now
down
more
than
20%
from
its
record
high
from
mid-March
above
$73,000.
A
check
of
traditional
markets
shortly
after
the
FOMC
announcement,
finds
stocks
remaining
little-changed
and
the
dollar
and
bond
yields
slightly
lower.
Gold
is
up
0.5%
at
$2,316
per
ounce
but
remains
about
4%
down
from
its
record
high
above
$2,400
hit
in
mid-April.
Further
clues
to
the
Fed’s
thinking
will
come
shortly
as
Chairman
Jerome
Powell
will
hold
his
post-meeting
press
conference
at
2:30
p.m
ET.
