From Decrypt · By Jose Antonio Lanz
In brief
The Fed held its target range at 3.75%-4.00% in a 10-2 vote, with Governor Lisa Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack dissenting in favor of a quarter-point hike.
The statement now calls economic activity "strong," up from "solid" in September, and says more information will determine the policy stance.
Bitcoin edged up about 0.2% to roughly $80,950 after the announcement, and the Fed's next meeting, Dec. 8-9, comes with new economic projections.
The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged at 3.75% to 4.00% on Wednesday in a 10-2 vote, with two officials dissenting in favor of another quarter-point hike. Fed Governor Lisa Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack voted against the decision, according to the Fed’s statement.
Bitcoin barely moved, edging up about 0.2% to roughly $80,950 in the minutes after the 2 p.m. ET announcement. CME FedWatch, a tool that converts bets on interest rate futures into probabilities, had put the odds of no change at around 90% before the decision.
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The decision reaches well beyond Wall Street, because the federal funds rate, which is what banks charge each other for overnight loans, sets the baseline for what consumers pay on credit cards and car loans. The Fed raised that rate in September, its first hike since 2023, in a unanimous 12-0 vote.
“Economic activity is expanding at a strong pace,” the Fed said in its statement, a step up from the solid pace it cited in September. “Job gains have kept pace with the workforce, and the unemployment rate has changed little,” it added.
On inflation, the Fed said it remains elevated and that “the accumulation of more information will help the Committee determine the policy stance appropriate to ensure a timely return of inflation to the Committee’s 2 percent goal."
Hammack also dissented in July, when the committee held rates in a 9-3 vote with Neel Kashkari and Lorie Logan joining her in favoring a hike. Kashkari and Logan sided with the majority this time, so the number of dissents fell to two from three.
BitcoinBTC · USD$80,967−4.09%Oct 21Oct 23Oct 25Oct 27Oct 28$84.8k$83.1k$81.3k$79.6k24h HighHigh$81,63624h LowLow$80,334VolVol$944.1M→Buy Bitcoin with USDTPowered by JupiterPrice data by CoinGeckoCoinGeckoMore Bitcoin news and projections →Oil remains a major driver of inflation because the U.S.-Iran war has squeezed global supply, and U.S. crude settled at $99.90 a barrel on Tuesday. Pricier crude lifts gasoline and shipping costs, which eventually show up on grocery shelves, and consumer prices rose 3.7% in the 12 months through September, with gasoline alone jumping 9.1% in the month, the Labor Department reported.