US Fed Meeting: FOMC keeps interest rates unchanged; here are 10 key takeaways from Federal Reserve monetary policy

livemint.com:

US Federal Reserve on Wednesday kept the benchmark interest rates unchanged, in line with the street estimates. The Fed Chair Jerome Powell-led Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) unanimously voted to leave the Fed funds rate at a 22-year high of 5.25% to 5.5% after the two-day meeting held on September 19 and 20.

Here are 10 key takeaways from the US Federal Reserve’s interest-rate decision and monetary policy on Wednesday: - FOMC votes unanimously to leave benchmark interest rates unchanged in the target range of 5.25%-5.5%, a 22-year high. - “Dot plot" of rate projections shows policymakers still foresee one more hike this year, but 2024 and 2025 rate projections each rose by a half-percentage point, a signal the Fed expects rates to stay higher for longer.

Also Read: US Fed meeting outcome: FOMC holds rate unchanged - Read full text from policy statement - Twelve of 19 policymakers on the FOMC expect one more rate hike this year to be appropriate; the remaining seven favor holding rates steady. - The policymakers’ inclination to keep rates high for an extended period suggests that they remain concerned that inflation might not be falling fast enough toward their 2% target.

- The Summary Economic Projections (SEP) forecasts inflation to drop to 3.3% by year-end, and to approach the central bank's average annual 2% target. - Policymakers’ gross domestic product (GDP) growth projection in 2023 rises to 2.1% from the 1% growth projected in June.

Read here: US Fed Reserve Policy: FOMC doubles US GDP growth projection to 2.1% from 1% for 2023 - The unemployment rate - which is currently at 3.8% - is seen peaking at 4.1% in 2024 - and remaining there for 2025 - versus the 4.5% high-water mark seen in June. - Statement