Fed likely to signal rate hike in March

The Federal Reserve is expected to signal at its meeting this week that it is ready to raise interest rates as soon as March and that it will consider other policy tightening, reversing the easy policies it put in place to fight the pandemic.

The Fed begins its two-day meeting Tuesday, and on Wednesday afternoon, the Central Bank is expected to issue a new statement that shows it is resolved to fight inflation. Against the backdrop of a violent stock market correction, Fed officials are expected to say they are ready to push up the fed funds rate from zero as soon as March.

“We don’t expect them to sound dovish,” said Mark Cabana, head of U.S. short rate strategy at Bank of America. - BBC