Current Stance on Interest Rates:
- Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stated that the Fed needs more data before cutting interest rates to ensure that recent weak inflation readings accurately reflect underlying price pressures.
- The Fed has maintained its benchmark policy interest rate within the range of 5.25% to 5.5% since July 2023 and has increased the interest rate 11 times since March 2022.
Inflation Trends:
- Although inflation has been cooling off, it remains above the Fed’s target of 2%.
- Recent data shows some progress: inflation rose 3.3% in May, lower than the expected 3.4%, and the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) remained unchanged in May after a 0.3% increase in April.
- Core CPI, excluding volatile energy and food prices, rose 3.4% in May, slightly below the expected 3.5%.
Future Projections:
- Despite previous promises of three interest rate cuts in 2024, persistent inflation has led the Fed to project possibly only one rate cut this year.
- Investors are hoping for at least one rate cut, but the Fed’s cautious stance suggests it may take longer before any cuts are implemented.
Context and Implications:
- Powell’s comments were made at a monetary policy conference in Portugal sponsored by the European Central Bank.
- The Fed’s careful approach indicates that while there has been some modest progress in reducing inflation, it is not yet confident enough to implement rate cuts.
Head YES man at FresYes.com
I grew up in Fresno. Relaxed in its calm breezes, listened with my dad to the crack of the bat at little league baseball games when I was a kid and now take my son to do the same at minor league games. I broadened my mind at its schools (I went to high school right here at San Joaquin Memorial, and to college at Fresno State!) I love that if I drive for two hours in one direction, I can be in the mountains. For two hours in another, luxuriating on a California beach. I can enjoy the cosmopolitan atmosphere of San Francisco or Los Angeles, but still be able to come home to relaxation, calm, and quiet.
I love where I live, and I also love what I do. I'm lucky to be able to work in a profession in which I get to build relationships; one that has me meeting new people each and every day and helping them to build new lives in my beloved city. I'm lucky enough to work in a profession in which I can marry cutting-edge technologies and marketing techniques to good, old-fashioned, nose-to-the-grindstone work. I am lucky enough to work in a profession that allows me to work as an advocate for my clients; to use every tool at my disposal to get a job done well for them, and with as little stress and expense as possible.
I love my city. I love my job. One inspires my excellence for the other.
Fresno? I say FresYES
I love where I live, and I also love what I do. I'm lucky to be able to work in a profession in which I get to build relationships; one that has me meeting new people each and every day and helping them to build new lives in my beloved city. I'm lucky enough to work in a profession in which I can marry cutting-edge technologies and marketing techniques to good, old-fashioned, nose-to-the-grindstone work. I am lucky enough to work in a profession that allows me to work as an advocate for my clients; to use every tool at my disposal to get a job done well for them, and with as little stress and expense as possible.
I love my city. I love my job. One inspires my excellence for the other.
Fresno? I say FresYES
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