Officials at the Fed#39;s Dec. 13-14 policy meeting agreed the U.S. central bank should continue increasing the cost of credit to control the pace of price increases, but in a gradual way intended to limit the risks to economic growth.
The minutes of the meeting, which were released on Wednesday, showed policymakers still focused on controlling the pace of price increases that threatened to run hotter than anticipated, and worried about any “misperception” in financial markets that their commitment to fighting inflation was flagging.
“Participants noted that, because monetary policy worked importantly through financial markets, an unwarranted easing in financial conditions, especially if driven by a misperception by the public of the committee’s reaction function, would complicate the committee’s effort to restore price stability,” according to minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee’s Dec. 13-14 meeting released in Washington on Wednesday.
After the deal goes through, Ant — in which ecommerce titan Alibaba has a stake — will have contributed a total of 9.25 billion yuan and control half of its shares
“Bears remained at the helm, taking the benchmark Nifty about 190 points lower from the previous closing. On the 4-hourly chart, the index has given an upward consolidation breakdown; besides, the shorter moving average (21 EMA) finished the day lower than the longer moving average (50 EMA), confirming the bearish scenario,” Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, said.
The pound fell from around 24.7 for $1 to just over 26.3 against the dollar, less than two weeks after Egypt and the IMF formally ratified the support package
“In my view … it will be appropriate to continue to raise rates at least at the next few meetings until we are confident inflation has peaked,” Kashkari said in an essay posted on the regional Fed bank’s website, even as he noted increasing evidence price pressures appear past their worst.
Gold prices extended gains on Wednesday to touch their highest levels since mid-June, helped by a pull-back in the dollar and yields as markets awaited the release of Federal Reserve minutes for guidance on upcoming interest rate hikes.
That was the weakest reading since May 2020, when the economy was slammed by the first wave of COVID-19 cases, and pushed the index just below the 48.7 level, which the ISM says is consistent with a recession in the broader economy.