Fed's Powell calms recession jitters with rebuff of 75-basis point rate hike - raises rate 1/2 point

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Fox Business

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell alleviated some concerns of a looming economic recession after he rejected the possibility of an even larger interest rate hike than the one the U.S. central bank announced on Wednesday.

 

 

Bond yields fell and stocks recorded their best day since 2020 after Powell helped to calm investors, who worried that the Fed's aggressive tightening of monetary policy in order to tame the hottest inflation in 40 years could tip the economy into a recession.

In remarks after the Federal Open Market Committee voted to raise its key interest rate by 50-basis points for the first time since 2000, Powell rebuffed any suggestion that a mega-sized, 75-basis point increase is on the table at future meetings. The S&P 500 rose 3% following his comments, the biggest jump since May 2020.

"A 75-basis point increase is not something that the committee is actively considering," Powell told reporters at the post-meeting press conference. 

His comments came after policymakers voted unanimously to raise the key benchmark rate by a half point to a range between 0.75% and 1.0%, the highest since the pandemic began two years ago, as they look to curb consumer demand in order to reduce soaring prices.

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Fed Hikes Rates Half-Point as Powell Signals Similar Moves Ahead