FOMC announced its latest monetary policy decision, and the first one of this year, today at 7:00 pm GMT. There was no surprise when it comes to rates - Fed funds rate was left unchanged in 5.25-5.50% range as expected. Statement showed that the Fed sees risks to achieving employment and inflation goals as moving into better balance. It was also noted that recent indicators suggest that economic activity has been expanding at a solid pace. A reference to additional policy firming was removed, but it was noted that FOMC does not expect it will be appropriate to reduce the target range until it has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably towards 2 percent. There was also no mention of adjustments to quantitative tightening.
The statement can be described as 'hawkish' given how dovish markets expectations were ahead of the meeting.
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