“We look for the Fed to lift the target range for the federal funds rate by 75bp to 2.25-2.5% while keeping its balance sheet normalization policies in place. … We look for Chair Powell to repeat similar messages from the June FOMC meeting; namely that inflation is too high, the Fed is committed to restoring price stability, and some pain may be needed to bring inflation lower. Looking ahead, we expect another 50bp increase in September and two additional 25bp rate hikes by year end, which would bring the target range for the federal funds rate to 3.25-3.50%.”
From Goldman Sachs:
“We expect a 75bp rate hike at the July FOMC meeting next week. … The key question for next week is what guidance Chair Powell will give about the size of a likely rate hike in September. We expect that Fed officials will want to keep their options open and will avoid any strong guidance. … We continue to expect a 50bp hike in September and 25bp hikes in November and December to a terminal rate of 3.25-3.5%.”
Wall Street forecasts have been revised down further since June due to the ongoing negative impacts from the pandemic. the war in Ukraine and financial tightening. For example, from BofA:
“We now forecast 1.1% GDP growth for 2022 and expect growth to slow to -0.2% in 2023”
| GDP projections of Federal Reserve Governors and Reserve Bank presidents, Change in Real GDP1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Projection Date | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
| June 2022 | 1.5 to 1.9 | 1.3 to 2.0 | 1.5 to 2.0 | |
| Mar 2022 | 2.5 to 3.0 | 2.1 to 2.5 | 1.8 to 2.0 | |
The unemployment rate was at 3.6% in June. So far, the economic slowdown has not pushed up the unemployment rate.
| Unemployment projections of Federal Reserve Governors and Reserve Bank presidents, Unemployment Rate2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Projection Date | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
| June 2022 | 3.6 to 3.8 | 3.8 to 4.1 | 3.9 to 4.1 | |
| Mar 2022 | 3.4 to 3.6 | 3.3 to 3.6 | 3.2 to 3.7 | |
As of May 2022, PCE inflation was up 6.3% from May 2021. This was below the cycle high of 6.6% YoY in March. Analysts are expecting inflation to decline slowly.
| Inflation projections of Federal Reserve Governors and Reserve Bank presidents, PCE Inflation1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Projection Date | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
| June 2022 | 5.0 to 5.3 | 2.4 to 3.0 | 2.0 to 2.5 | |
| Mar 2022 | 4.1 to 4.7 | 2.3 to 3.0 | 2.1 to 2.4 | |
PCE core inflation was up 4.7% in May year-over-year. This was below the cycle high of 5.3% YoY in February.
| Core Inflation projections of Federal Reserve Governors and Reserve Bank presidents, Core Inflation1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Projection Date | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
| June 2022 | 4.2 to 4.5 | 2.5 to 3.2 | 2.1 to 2.5 | |
| Mar 2022 | 3.9 to 4.4 | 2.4 to 3.0 | 2.1 to 2.4 | |