Fed Hints at Possible Pause of Tightening Later This Year

Source: Federal Reserve

Officials of the Federal Reserve hinted at the possibility of a pause on policy tightening later this year to evaluate the impact of the latest moves. QQQ is up 0.36%, and SPY is up 0.65% premarket.

• Minutes of the latest Fed meeting indicated that officials found that an expedited tightening would bring the Fed “well-positioned” to look into the effects so far.
• Officials expressed concerns over the impact of inflation on Americans and the high risks of price hikes.
• A number of officials noted that price hikes have been hitting business sales, while downside risks were a footnote.
• Several officials also backed the eventual sales of the Federal Reserve’s mortgage-backed securities.
• Issues in markets for Treasuries and commodities were also cited, with officials noting that trading and risk-management practices were not widely practiced.