The Federal Reserve is set to deliver its first interest rate decision of the year in what is the headline event on today’s central bank calendar.
The Fed is widely expected to hold interest rates steady at 4.25-4.5 per cent, but central bank watchers will be paying attention to any potential discussion about Monday’s stock market rout and the Trump administration’s talk of tariffs by chair Jay Powell at his press conference.
Powell, who was nominated for the role by Donald Trump during his first White House term, may also respond to the president’s recent expression of support for a further rate cut.
Earlier in the day, the Bank of Canada is projected to cut interest rates for the sixth consecutive meeting. The BoC is expected to trim its policy rate by 0.25 percentage points, in its first monetary policy decision since the inauguration of tariff enthusiast Trump as president of Canada’s largest trading partner.
Brazil’s central bank is expected to repeat December’s 1 percentage point increase when it delivers its decision on rates later on Wednesday.
