Tag: Rate Hikes

The Federal Reserve’s next FOMC meeting is just under two weeks away, and market participants are gaining insight from Chairman Powell and other Federal Reserve voting members. Recent statements by Chairman Powell have indicated a major shift in his position regarding inflation. Up until his most recent statements, he maintained that inflation levels had peaked, were transitory, and would begin to decline. However, he has been forced to reevaluate those assumptions based on the reality that the CPI is currently at 8.5% for March, and the PCE index came in at 6.4% in February. PCE numbers for March will be released on April 29.

Statements by all members of the Federal Reserve have intrinsically contained subtle changes in words used to describe their forward guidance; this was not the case this week when Chairman Powell addressed the issue of inflation head-on.

For the first time, Powell was forced to acknowledge that “it is appropriate to be moving a little more quickly... Our goal is to use our tools to get demand and supply back in synch…and do so without a slowdown that amounts to a recession... It is going to be very challenging.”

During the March FOMC meeting, the Federal Reserve began its process of interest rate normalization or “lift-off” by raising the Fed Funds rate from virtually zero (0% to .25%) by .25% taking interest rates to 25 – 50 basis points.

The most recent inflationary data indicates that Americans are experiencing the highest inflationary pressure since January 1982, which makes it almost certain Continue reading "Gold Declines As Fed Prepares To Fight Inflation" →

Inflation is not limited to the United States. It is a global phenomenon prompting central banks worldwide to take action. Central banks worldwide are quickly moving to a more aggressive monetary policy in an attempt to stave off the spiraling international level of inflation. The president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, John Williams, spoke to Bloomberg Television saying that a .50% hike in interest rates is a ‘very reasonable option’ for May.

He also addressed the endgame and timeline to achieve interest rate normalization, saying, “We need to get to a more neutral or normal level of the fed funds rate, though whether that would be the end of the year or exactly when will depend on the data... The Fed should get “real” interest rates, nominal borrowing costs minus expected the inflation rate, back up to a more normal level by next year.” Continue reading "Global Inflation Prompts Action By Central Banks" →

As of 4:44 PM EDT gold futures basis, the most active June 2022 contract is trading up $11.70, a gain of 0.60% at $1949.50. There were some alarming forecasts for the upcoming release of the latest inflationary data vis-à-vis the CPI (Consumer Price Index) on Tuesday, March 12. Just last week, estimates were released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, which revealed a detailed estimate of the upcoming CPI report indicating that the level of inflation in March could run as high as 8.41%. Furthermore, estimates for the first quarter of 2022 predict inflationary pressures quarter over quarter could swell as high as 9.1%.

The chart above is a 240-minute candlestick chart of gold futures. We have included trendlines highlighting a series of lower highs as well as a series of higher lows. This has created a compression triangle and breakout above the current resistance level. This indicates that gold has concluded its consolidation period and moved back into a solid rally mode. This puts our next target for potential resistance at $1967.60. Above that price point, there is resistance at $2000 and major resistance at $2016. Continue reading "Gold Rises Ahead Of CPI Inflation Report" →

The most recent jobs report supports aggressive Fed rate hikes, to reduce inflation, but other factors need to be resolved to solve the big global picture.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released some welcome news today. 431,000 Americans became gainfully employed in March, and the jobless rate was within 0.1% of 3.5%, coming in at 3.6%. Economists polled had forecasted that over 500,000 jobs would be added. However, that has little relevance with today’s report indicating that the labor market in the United States is vibrant and strong. The strength of today’s report shows that America’s workforce is now only 1.6 million jobs, or 1% of the levels that existed before the pandemic. It must be noted that higher employment is a byproduct of a tight labor market that has had to offer higher wages to attract new workers.

This solid report will give the Federal Reserve the necessary data to continue to raise rates, most likely at a much more aggressive rate. However, the Federal Reserve will have a near-impossible mission to have a soft landing as they reduce the current inflation rate to an acceptable target rate which has been 2%. Continue reading "Jobs Report Supports Aggressive Rate Hikes" →