Summary of the Federal Reserve’s statement

In its statement, the Fed acknowledged that the recent developments in the financial markets could tighten monetary conditions for households and businesses. However, the US central bank emphasized that the US banking system is solid and resilient.

Fed officials commented that the labor market remains strong and inflation is still elevated. Regarding the Quantitative Tightening (QT), the Fed commented that the balance sheet reduction would continue as planned and reiterated that the Committee “is strongly committed to returning inflation to its 2 percent objective.”

From the monetary policy statement, Federal Reserve’s policymakers removed the phrase “ongoing increases.”

The Summary of Economic Projections (SEP) was almost unchanged. The dot plots, the Federal Reserve’s officials’ projections for interest rates, remained unchanged at 5.10%. Real GDP is expected at 0.4% vs. December 0.5%, while the Unemployment Rate is expected at 4.6% vs. 4.5%. The Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge for inflation, the core PCE is expected at 3.6%, compared to the last SEP report in December at 3.5%, while headline inflation is estimated at 3.3%, vs. 3.1% of the prior’s SEP.