Fed doubles taper rate to $30B a month, projects three interest rate hikes next year
Fed policymakers speed up taper timeline to address soaring inflation
By Megan Henney FOXBusiness
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday announced plans to accelerate the wind down of its aggressive bond-buying program and penciled in at least three interest rate hikes next year as policymakers seek to combat the hottest inflation in four decades.
The Federal Open Market Committee said at the conclusion of its two-day policy-setting meeting this week that it would reduce its asset-purchase program by $30 billion a month, a timeline that could phase out the purchases entirely by March rather than the original June trajectory laid out last month.
Although policymakers voted to hold rates near zero, where they have sat since March 2020, new economic projections show that every Fed official has penciled in at least one rate hike next year – a considerable shift from September, when half of the central bankers believed interest rate increases were not warranted until at least 2023.
It's the latest evidence that months of rapid inflation have become increasingly worrisome to Fed policymakers as they seek to balance soaring consumer prices with returning the labor market to pre-pandemic levels.
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https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/federal-reserve-taper-bond-purchases-december-2021
