The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged following its latest policy meeting Wednesday. However, the Fed did signal a hike could be due in December as the economy gathers momentum and inflation picks up. The U.S. central bank said the economy had gained steam and job gains remained solid. Policymakers also expressed more optimism that inflation was moving toward their two percent target. Some analysts speculate a move is more likely in December because the Fed was not interested in making a change less than a week before a national election this month. However, as Reuters points out, the bar is low for a rate increase in the final policy meeting of the year as the Fed said in a statement it is choosing to “wait for some further evidence of continued progress.” One analyst said the comments mean: “You are still pointing to a December hike, they just didn’t pre-commit to it.”
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting news service.