Federal Reserve to Meet Again, Interest Hike Expected

The Federal Reserve is scheduled to meet this week, and the most likely thing to come from that meeting is the announcement of another interest rate hike. This year, the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates during its five previous meetings beginning in March of 2022. Below is a table showing the meeting date, rate change, and target interest range.

As you can see, the last three meetings have resulted in rate hikes of 75 basis points. Many economists predict another hike of 75 basis points from this meeting. While these interest rate hikes don’t expressly affect consumers, they do affect the rates seen by consumers in other ways. Mortgage rates, credit card interest rates, car loans, student loans, and savings accounts are all indirectly affected by Federal Reserve policy. For example, the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is nearly 7%, reaching its highest level since 2002. For credit cards, the annual percentage rate (APR) is almost 19% up from 16.3% according to Bankrate.com.

For more information, please reach out to the Professionals at The Center for Financial, Legal, & Tax Planning Inc., at (618) 997-3436.