Joshua Roberts/Reuters
Fed Chair Janet Yellen
- The Federal Reserve at 2 p.m. ET will release its latest policy decision in a statement.
- The Fed is not expected to raise interest rates, but may hint that it will consider doing so at its meeting in December.
- Wednesday's statement is overshadowed by President Donald Trump's announcement of his nominee for Fed chair, which is expected on Thursday.
The Federal Reserve at 2 p.m. ET will release its interest-rate decision and policy statement after a two-day meeting in Washington.
The Fed's not expected to announce another interest-rate hike, and its statement is likely to be similar to the September release with a few tweaks. It could signal that it plans to consider raising its benchmark rate at the December meeting. Futures traders saw a 0% chance of a hike on Wednesday, and an 85% chance in December, according to Bloomberg's world interest rate probability.
In the statement, the Fed may say that recent hurricanes temporarily disrupted the economy; for example nonfarm payrolls contracted in September for the first time in seven years. But the Fed would add that it expects the economy to continue expanding at a moderate pace that calls for only gradual interest-rate increases.
The Fed could also acknowledge that inflation still runs below its 2% objective, but should soon stabilize around that target.
The bigger Fed story this week is President Donald Trump's announcement Thursday of his nominee for chair of the Fed board. On Wednesday, Trump said Chair Janet Yellen, whose first term ends in February, was "excellent," but didn't say that he would reappoint her. Multiple outlets have reported he plans to nominate Fed Governor Jerome Powell, who aligns with many of Yellen's policy views.