Fed Expected to Hike Rates on Wednesday Amid Firm Inflation Data

The Federal Reserve is likely to raise its interest rate on Wednesday and may deliver at least one more hike by the end of March, according to a majority of economists polled by Reuters.

An 85% majority of economists, 86 out of 101, in the Reuters survey conducted after Friday's inflation report said the Fed would increase rates by a quarter percentage point to 3.75%-4.00% at its September 15-16 meeting, the first increase since July 2023.

This is a dramatic reversal of last week's survey result showing more than two-thirds expecting a rate hold. A near-53% of forecasters expect at least one further rate increase by end-March, compared to 56% expecting steady rates last week.