Members of a key Federal Reserve committee forecasted rate cuts in 2024 but noted “an unusually elevated degree of uncertainty” as it weighs its next move, according to new minutes from its December meeting released today, The Hill reported. The committee voted to hold interest rates at their highest level in more than two decades following its final meeting of 2023. But Fed officials, including Chair Jerome Powell, signaled rate cuts were on the horizon following the announcement. “We are likely at or near the peak rate for this cycle,” Powell said at press conference last month, sending markets soaring. The new minutes add fuel to forecasts that the Fed is likely done with rate hikes. “In discussing the policy outlook, [Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)] participants viewed the policy rate as likely at or near its peak for this tightening cycle, though they noted that the actual policy path will depend on how the economy evolves,” according to the minutes. “Participants pointed to the decline in inflation seen during 2023, noting the recent shift down in six-month inflation readings in particular, and to growing signs of demand and supply coming into better balance in product and labor markets as informing that view.”
