We have updated our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for Eurasia Group and its affiliates, including GZERO Media, to clarify the types of data we collect, how we collect it, how we use data and with whom we share data. By using our website you consent to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, including the transfer of your personal data to the United States from your country of residence, and our use of cookies described in our Cookie Policy.
{{ subpage.title }}
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testifies to the Senate Banking Committee in Washington, DC.
Central bankers forecast clouds, with a chance of rate cuts
The millions of homeowners who have seen their mortgage payments double in recent years would no doubt concur with Mark Twain in his assessment of bankers – as the type of people who lend you an umbrella when the sun is shining and want it back as soon as it starts to rain.
Hopes for a break in the monetary policy clouds were frustrated this week as two North American central bankers said that interest rate cuts remain some way off.
Tiff Macklem, governor of the Bank of Canada, said yesterday that the bank’s governing council decided that rates will stay at 5%, at least until it meets again in April, as inflation of close to 3% means underlying pressures persist.
“We need to give higher interest rates more time to do their work,” he said.
The same day, Jerome Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve, told members of the House Financial Services Committee that the Fed is on a “good path” to achieving the desired “soft landing” of a growing economy with inflation back to its 2% target but that further progress is not assured.
The notes of caution come despite both US and Canadian economies avoiding recession. The US economy grew at an annualized rate of 3.2% last quarter. Even Canada’s anemic 1% growth rate suggests monetary policy is working to relieve price pressures, without choking demand.
Macklem said he is confident rates are high enough and that the discussion has now shifted to whether they need to stay at their current level.
Both central bankers characterized future progress as gradual and uneven, as wage growth remains in the 4-5% range.
But the unspoken pressure is political. A Liberal government in Canada will hand down a federal budget on April 16, less than a week after the next governing council decision. The budget date all but rules out the central bank's April meeting as a possibility for a rate cut, given the prospect of inflationary federal government spending.
In the US, it is an election year, which puts inevitable pressure on the Fed from politicians who will have to face angry voters. Powell said he acknowledged the risks of waiting too long to ease monetary policy and the damage that might cause the economy. But he said he did not want to ease credit conditions too soon and see inflation re-accelerate.
Investors expect an initial rate cut in June. Fed officials last year projected three quarter-point cuts this year, but Powell said the Fed would like to see more data to increase confidence that inflation is moving down to 2% before reducing the policy rate.
The benchmark rate has been held in the 5.25-5.5% rate since July.
For cash-strapped homeowners and consumers, the post-inflation rainbow can’t come quickly enough.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell looks on at the Jackson Lake Lodge in Jackson Hole
What’s the Fed’s next move?
It’s a tricky moment for the global economy. Growth is slowing around the world – particularly in China. The regional US banking crisis earlier this year sowed fears that further rate hikes could destabilize the industry. And inflationary pressures around the world – especially for food – are sending prices north, thanks to climate change and the war in Ukraine.
Powell is expected to strike a more optimistic tone this year – but not a triumphant one. After a year of 11 rate hikes (interest rates are at their highest levels in 22 years), the Fed has made significant progress in easing annual inflation, reducing it from 8.5% this time last year to today’s 3.2%. But it’s still higher than the Fed’s 2% target – and there are fears that high consumer spending will keep translating into higher prices. But there is also murmuring of the Fed pulling off a “soft landing,” where it manages to tame inflation without tanking the economy.
Consumers are burning through the last of their COVID savings, so the consumer spending problem could solve itself. Monetary policy takes time to ripple through the economy, but Powell needs to decide how patient the Fed can afford to be.
Rob Kahn, director of Eurasia Group’s Geoeconomics practice, expects the Fed to pause their rate hike cycle in September. But today Powell is likely to leave the door open for additional rate hikes and signal a willingness to maintain the Fed's tight monetary policy well into 2024.
But come November, Kahn anticipates one more 25-basis-point hike and says that the first cuts are only likely to come in mid-2024 as the Fed continues aiming for the holy grail of 2%.
Fed chair Jerome Powell leaves after a news conference in Washington, DC.
The Fed's last rate hike of 2023?
On Wednesday, the US Federal Reserve will announce whether it'll further raise interest rates to tamp down inflation, which has eased in recent months yet remained at 5% in March, well above the 2% level that economists like. It's likely that the Fed will go for another 0.25 percentage point hike — taking interest rates to between 5% and 5.25%, the highest level in 16 years.
But that's not what economists and investors will most pay attention to.
They will surely obsess over every word that Fed Chair Jay Powell says in his speech after the rate decision is announced — looking for any signal that it’ll be the last hike of 2023. Yet, don't be surprised if Powell keeps his cards close to his chest amid stubbornly high inflation, fears of a looming US recession, and financial sector jitters after the collapse of First Republic Bank.
"Our base case is that the Fed will pause there and hold that rate through to at least the end of the year," says Eurasia Group analyst Robert Kahn. "But it'll be interesting to see how the Fed handles it. They're not going to want to give any kind of assurances."
Traders react to Fed rate announcement on the floor of the NYSE in New York.
US economy’s slowing growth
The US economy grew by just 1.1% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2023, suggesting that the Federal Reserve’s tightening of monetary policy to stamp out inflation is indeed slowing down the biggest economy in the world.
It’s a big drop from the 2.6% growth rate recorded in the last quarter of 2022 and suggests that the Fed’s spree of interest rate hikes since last year — raising the benchmark policy rate from around zero to 5% — is starting to have an impact despite consumer demand, which had so far remained strong due to a tight labor market and steady wage growth.
Ahead of next week’s policy meeting, Fed Chair Jerome Powell will be weighing up whether to keep tightening or to hit the brakes so as not to send the economy into a recession.
But there are still many unknowns on the horizon, including a looming crisis in Congress over raising the debt ceiling that could send markets into a tizzy, as well as more fallout from the ongoing banking crisis. This comes as many analysts, including Fed officials, say that the US will enter a recession later this year before the economic recovery can begin.
Larry Summers explains the banking crisis
On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer and former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers discuss a range of topics, including the global banking system, the impact of AI on the labor market, and a controversial solution for rebuilding Ukraine.
Summers, an expert on inflation, provides valuable insights into recent bank failures that have caused concern among investors worldwide. He discusses whether the current situation constitutes a banking crisis, explores the role that inflation is playing in contributing to the banking problems, and makes predictions about the duration of the current financial turmoil.
He and Bremmer also touch on the impact of AI on the labor market, with Summers warning of significant changes that will cause profound shifts in traditional hierarchies and ways of thinking, which may make influential groups uneasy.
Summers also offers a provocative solution for rebuilding Ukraine: seizing frozen Russian assets.
Note: this interview was featured on an episode of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer on April 3, 2023: The banking crisis, AI & Ukraine: Larry Summers weighs in
Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla
Podcast: Larry Summers breaks down the banking crisis
Listen: On the GZERO World podcast, Ian Bremmer and former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers discuss the recent bank failures that are disrupting global markets and worrying investors worldwide. They discuss whether the current situation constitutes a banking crisis and explore the role of inflation in contributing to the problems. As an inflation expert, Summers provides valuable insights and predictions on the duration of the financial turmoil.
Additionally, he warns of the significant changes that AI could bring to traditional hierarchies and proposes a controversial solution for rebuilding Ukraine: seizing frozen Russian assets.
Subscribe to the GZERO World Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published.- Podcast: Inflation nation: How Larry Summers predicted skyrocketing prices in the US ›
- Podcast: Making sense of global inflation, looming recession, & economists who disagree ›
- Podcast: China's economic head start & a world accelerating into recession ›
- Podcast: The COVID-damaged global economy surprised Adam Tooze ›
- Ian Explains: Banking turmoil and the panic pandemic - GZERO Media ›
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell arrives to testify before the US Senate.
What We're Watching: US Fed's next move, China's stimulus, Chile's president needs a win
All eyes on Powell at Jackson Hole
Updated Aug. 26:Heard of Jackson Hole, Wyoming? That's where all the economic bigwigs from around the world are gathering for an annual three-day event focused on the state of the global economy. In a stark departure from his position throughout much of the pandemic that inflation would be “transitory,” US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in a keynote address Friday that there would be “some pain” for households and businesses in the months ahead, noting that inflation continues to soar. Powell also said it’s likely that we’ll see a “softening of labor market conditions,” suggesting that record low unemployment – the current silver lining of the economy – could tick upwards. Indeed, the Fed chair sought to defend his track record to economists and central bankers, many of whom have been critical of him for waiting too long to raise interest rates. Many observers took Powell’s address as a sign that the Fed will continue to tighten monetary policy in the months ahead as inflation tops 8% over the previous year. What's more, some economists say the Fed could soon raise rates as high as 4% (its current target rate is 2.25-2.5%), sparking fears of a sharp recession. Still, inflation is mild in the US compared to parts of Europe, particularly the UK, where inflation is estimated to hit a whopping 18.6% early next year.
China grabbing at stimulus straws
China has announced an additional $44 billion worth of stimulus spending on infrastructure to breathe some life into its battered economy. Struggling businesses certainly need help: the real estate sector is drowning in debt, factories are shutting down due to a heat wave and an energy crunch, and rural banks are failing. But more importantly, zero-COVID is hurting both productivity and consumer confidence in a rebound anytime soon — and the government has no plans for relaxing the policy in the near term. It's an open secret that Xi Jinping knows annual GDP growth will fall far short of Beijing's 5.5% target for 2022. In fact, it'll probably end up at around 3% — a dismal performance for the world's second-largest economy. The timing could not be worse for Xi, who's getting ready to secure a norm-defying third term as secretary-general of the ruling Communist Party at the much-anticipated 20th Party Congress this fall. China's leaders are a bit distracted by Taiwan these days, but if they continue to drop the ball on the economy, the CCP’s marriage of convenience to the Chinese people since 1949 might be tested.
Chile’s embattled president needs a win
Chile's President Gabriel Boric is pulling out all the stops ahead of a crucial national vote on Sept. 4 over whether to adopt a new draft constitution that would ditch the Pinochet-era text. Boric – a former student leader who came to power in December 2021 as a change candidate – reintroduced a bill this week to slash the working week from 45 to 40 hours within 5 years. (The legislation has been dead in the water since 2017.) This push comes as Boric, largely seen as a symbol of the region’s “Pink Tide,” is being thrashed in the polls due to soaring inflation, the deteriorating security situation, and some rookie missteps. As a result, many Chileans have soured on the draft constitution (although it was drafted by an independent political body elected by voters) which has sought to entrench Indigenous rights and beef up the role of the state to reduce economic inequality (around 46% say they will vote against the text; 33% in favor). It’s a big shift considering that in 2020, almost 80% of Chileans supported rewriting the constitution. Boric needs a political win, and losing the plebiscite vote would be another big setback for his government.
Biden sticks with Powell as Fed Chair amid rising inflation
Jon Lieber, head of Eurasia Group's coverage of political and policy developments in Washington, shares insights on US politics:
Why did President Biden renominate Jay Powell to be the chairman of the Fed, and who's his No.2, Lael Brainard?
Well, Powell by all accounts has done a pretty good job of managing the Fed through the coronavirus pandemic. He dusted off the playbook, first pioneered by Chairman Bernanke during the financial crisis, and he's largely continued the relatively easy monetary policy of his predecessor at the Fed, now Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen. With inflation growing the way it has over the last several months, Biden now owns the policies of the Fed and is essentially endorsing what Powell has been doing and giving Powell the political cover to continue to keep rates low for longer, or as many people expect, raise them slightly over the next 12 months in order to fight inflation.
Who is Lael Brainard? Well, she's a longstanding member of the Board of Governors. She was thought to be the favorite to replace Powell if President Biden decided to replace him, but instead Biden gave her a promotion to vice chair. The vice chair has sort of an amorphous role. The last Vice Chair, Rich Clarida, who leaves this post in February, had a significant role in rethinking how the Fed approaches periods when inflation runs a little bit hotter than they want it to, which means that structurally we're going to have more loose monetary policy for a longer period of time. Biden also has three other seats to fill on the board, including the vice chair over supervision, who if Biden follows in the footsteps of other financial regulators they've appointed, is likely to appoint somebody who's going to be tougher on banks, more skeptical of cryptocurrency and tough on things like fintech and payments. But those guys might face a hard time getting confirmed, unlike Powell and Brainard, who are likely to cruise to an easy confirmation sometime in the next couple of months.