Fed raises rate and sees more hikes as US economy improves

The Fed’s forecast for future hikes, drawn from the views of 17 officials, still projects that it will raise rates three times this year, unchanged from the previous forecast in December. But the number of Fed officials who think three rate hikes will be appropriate for 2017 rose from six to nine.

The central bank’s outlook for the economy changed little, with officials expecting growth of 2.1 per cent this year and next year before slipping to 1.9 per cent in 2019. Those forecasts are far below the 4 per cent growth that President Donald Trump has said he can produce with his economic program.

The Fed’s rate hike should have little effect on mortgages or auto and student loans. The central bank doesn’t directly affect those rates, at least not in the short run. But rates on some other loans — notably credit cards, home equity loans and adjustable-rate mortgages — will likely rise soon, though only modestly. Those rates are based on benchmarks like banks’ prime rate, which moves in tandem with the Fed’s key rate.

Mark Vitner, an economist at Wells Fargo, noted that the Fed’s statement provided little hint of the timing of the next rate hike. The lack of specificity gives the Fed flexibility in case forthcoming elections in Europe or other unseen events disrupt the global economy.

“They don’t want to prematurely set the table for a rate hike,” Vitner said. “I think they’re confident, but it’s hard not to be cautious after we’ve had so many shocks over the years.”

Stock prices rose and bond yields fell as traders reacted to the Fed’s plans to raise rates gradually. The Dow Jones industrial average, which had been only modestly positive before the decision was announced at 2 p.m. Eastern time, closed up 112 points.

The Fed’s statement made few changes from the last one issued Feb. 1. But it did note that inflation, after lagging at worrisomely low levels for years, has picked up and was moving near the Fed’s 2 per cent target.

Many economists think the next hike will occur no earlier than June, given that the Fed probably wants time to assess the likelihood that Congress will pass Trump’s ambitious program of tax cuts, deregulation and increased spending on infrastructure.

In recent weeks, investors had seemed unfazed by the possibility that the Fed would raise rates several times in the coming months. Instead, Wall Street has been sustaining a stock market rally on the belief that the economy will remain durable and corporate profits strong.

A robust February jobs report — 235,000 added jobs, solid pay gains and a dip in the unemployment rate to 4.7 per cent — added to the perception that the economy is fundamentally sound.

That the Fed is no longer unsettling investors with the signal of forthcoming rate increases marks a sharp change from the anxiety that prevailed after 2008, when the central bank cut its key rate to a record low and kept it there for seven years. During those years, any slight shift in sentiment about when the Fed might begin raising rates — a step that would lead eventually to higher loan rates for consumers and businesses — was enough to move global markets.

The Fed has managed its control of interest rates with exceeding caution, beginning with an initial hike in December 2015. It then waited an entire year before raising rates again in December last year.

But now, the economy is widely considered sturdy enough to handle modestly higher loan rates. Inflation, which had stayed undesirably low for years, is edging near the 2 per cent annual rate that the Fed views as optimal.

And while the broadest gauge of the economy’s health — the gross domestic product — remains well below levels associated with a healthy economy, many analysts say they’re optimistic that Trump’s economic plans will accelerate growth. His proposals have managed to boost the confidence of business executives and offset concerns that investors might otherwise have had about the effects of Fed rate increases.

Yet for the same reason, some caution that if Trump’s program fails to survive Congress intact, concerns will arise that the president’s plans won’t deliver much economic punch. Investors may start to fret about how steadily higher Fed rates will raise the cost of borrowing and slow spending by consumers and businesses.

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AP Economics Writer Christopher S. Rugaber contributed to this report.

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Martin Crutsinger, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Fed raises rate and sees more hikes as US economy improves

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