Bets on Fed pause jump after Fed officials make case to skip rate hike in June

Investing.com — A pause on rate hikes in June was given a major boost Wednesday after Federal Reserve officials signaled a willingness to skip raising rates next month to assess incoming data.

“Skipping a rate hike at a coming meeting would allow the Committee to see more data before making decisions about the extent of additional policy firming,” Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Patrick Harker said Wednesday.

The comments pushed the odds of a pause to 63% from 37% a day earlier, according to Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool.

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The Philly Fed president stressed, however, that a pause wouldn’t imply that the Fed has “reached the peak rate for this cycle.”

Uncertainty about how much the recent banking stress will tighten credit standards further and the impact on the economy strengthen the case to skip a meeting, Harker added.

The comments echoed that of Fed Governor and vice chair nominee Philip Jefferson, who also made the case for a so-called hawkish pause by skipping a rate hike next month.

“A decision to hold our policy rate constant at a coming meeting should not be interpreted to mean that we have reached the peak rate for this cycle,” Jefferson said on Wednesday.

Source: Investing.com