Federal Reserve officials are likely to hold interest rates steady when they conclude their policy meeting this Wednesday, economists and analysts said, but they are also expected to keep the door open for at least one more hike.
"They are being very risk averse, and they're still worried about making the mistake of the 1970s of letting inflation go back up," said Wilmington Trust chief economist Luke Tilley. "They don't want the market to take any kind of signal of dovishness and run with it. They need to keep financial conditions tight."
The Fed, added Evercore ISI analyst Krishna Guha, "will strike a stern, resolute tone, assert a serious option of a further hike and a high bar for future cuts — but will not exercise the option to hike again unless progress on inflation or the labor market stalls out amid stronger growth."
