Fed More Than 65% Likely To Cool Rate Hikes At Next Meeting, Says CME FedWatch Tool

FOMC officials will likely continue to raise benchmark rates at their next meeting in early 2023. ... [+] (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)Getty Images This change could potentially affect the values of many different risk assets, including cryptocurrencies and stocks, by enhancing the yields offered by interest-bearing financial instruments and making them more appealing to global investors. [Ed note: Investing in cryptocoins or tokens is highly speculative and the market is largely unregulated. Anyone considering it should be prepared to lose their entire investment.] The CME FedWatch Tool, which is provided by exchange owner CME Group Inc., showed 66.1% odds that the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) would increase the benchmark rate to between 450 and 475 basis points when figures were pulled close to 11 a.m. EST today. The remaining 33.9% odds were for a more sizable 50 basis point increase, which would cause the range to rise to between 475 and 500 basis points. CME FedWatch Tool After opting for four consecutive 75 basis point rate increases and a 50-point hike at the last meeting, this resource predicts that the FOMC will tap the breaks on its monetary tightening, relaxing these efforts to bring inflation under control. Since March, these Fed policy makers have hiked the federal funds rate by 425 basis points, resorting to sizable increases not seen since the 1990s. They expect the federal funds rate to peak at 5.1% next year and 4.1% in 2024, according to the median forecast provided by these central bank officials in the Summary of Economic Projections released December 14. Further, this measure increased 7.1% during the 12 months through November. Should this data come in hotter than expected, it could cause FOMC officials to take a more aggressive approach during their next meeting.