The Federal Reserve will hike interest rates just one more time in 2023 before the central bank ends its inflation battle, according to its median forecast released Wednesday, CNBC reported.
The Fed kept the "terminal rate" unchanged from the last estimate in December at 5.1%, equivalent to a target range of 5%-5.25%. The central bank on Wednesday took the benchmark federal funds rate a quarter percentage point higher to a range between 4.75%-5%.
The so-called dot plot, which the Fed uses to signal its outlook for the path of interest rates, indicate that a majority of officials (10 out of 18 members) expect only one more rate hike ahead by the end of this year. Seven Fed officials see rates going higher than the 5.1% terminal rate.
For 2024, the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee projected that rates would fall to 4.1%, also unchanged from its December estimate.