Fed Widely Expected to Raise Rates by 25bps

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise the target for the fed funds rate by a quarter-point to 0.25%-0.5% during its March 2022 meeting, the first increase in borrowing costs since 2018. Fresh economic forecasts, interest rate projections and any comments on the central bank plans for its nearly $9 trillion balance sheet will also be in the spotlight. Markets anticipate the so-called dot plot to show four interest-rate hikes in 2022 and the 2022 inflation estimate to be revised higher to about 4% from 2.7% projected in December while the growth outlook could be revised lower due to the war in Ukraine.