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Federal Reserve officials are widely expected to cut interest rates, but investors will focus on hints about what comes next.
Dec. 18, 2024, 5:04 a.m. ET
Federal Reserve officials are expected to announce their third and final interest rate cut of 2024 on Wednesday, but investors will be keenly focused on something else: where they see policy heading in 2025.
Central bankers are scheduled to release their latest economic projections since September alongside their 2 p.m. rate decision. Some economists think that the officials could reduce how many rate cuts they expect to make next year in light of recent sticky inflation and strong economic growth.
Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, is also set to give a news conference at 2:30 p.m., and Wall Street will hang on his every word for a hint at what policymakers are thinking.
The Fed’s December meeting is often a market-moving affair that sets the tone for the next year, so this week’s gathering is sure to be carefully watched. Here’s what to know.
Pay attention to the plot.
The central bank will release a fresh Summary of Economic Projections after this meeting, including the closely watched “dot plot,” which shows how much officials expect to lower interest rates in coming years. (It arrays their anonymous projections as baby blue dots on a chart, hence the name.)
Rates are now set to about 4.6 percent, and will close out the year at about 4.4 percent if the Fed makes a quarter-point rate cut at this meeting, as expected.
