The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on June 17, but the real headline is what officials were talking about behind closed doors. Rate hikes are back on the table.
The FOMC voted unanimously to maintain the federal funds rate at a target range of 3.5% to 3.75%, marking the fourth consecutive meeting this year without any movement. Bitcoin responded by slipping below $65,000.
The dot plot shift tells the real story
The median year-end projection for the federal funds rate jumped to 3.8%, up from the 3.4% forecast in March. Nine out of eighteen FOMC officials now predict at least one rate hike before the year is out, a sharp reversal from earlier expectations that had included potential cuts.
This was also the first FOMC meeting chaired by Kevin Warsh, who took over the top seat at the Fed. Warsh did not submit his own dot-plot projection, a move that keeps his personal policy leanings ambiguous for now.
