Is This the End of the Rate Hiking Cycle?

The Committee decided to raise the target for the Federal Funds rate to a range of 5.25% to 5.50%.

The committee left the statement largely unchanged but did upgrade its assessment of the economic expansion from modest to moderate. The language around job growth and inflation left unchanged, despite the slowdowns seen in both.

Whether or not the Fed raises rates any further will depend on the slew of incoming data. If, as we expect, economic activity cools off and the deceleration in inflation proves durable, another rate hike won’t be necessary.