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Fed Hints Hikes Are Done

Chris Nichols

Federal Reserve policymakers decided at their latest meeting to again leave rates unchanged, and in a development that energized the bulls, the central bank omitted language from its remarks that suggested further tightening was a possibility.

The Fed dropped its past pronouncement that the "extent and timing of any additional firming that may be needed" will depend on economic data. Those comments were included in the policy statement issued in January.

Many analysts and traders are looking for a cut at some point this year, and the idea that new rate increases could be completely off the table gave hope to that point of view.

Lately, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was surging 165 points, or 1.4%, to 12,454, and the Nasdaq Composite was climbing 41 points, or 1.7%, to 2449.

"Recent indicators have been mixed and the adjustment in the housing sector is ongoing," the Fed said in its latest statement Wednesday. "Nevertheless, the economy seems likely to continue to expand at a moderate pace over coming quarters."

The Fed has kept the fed funds target rate, the rate banks use to charge each other interest for overnight loans, at 5.25% since June.

Despite adopting a softer tone regarding its potential moves down the road, the Fed still offered a hawkish observation by hinting that certain cost measures have been hotter than it wants to see.

Readings on core inflation "have been somewhat elevated," it said. "Although inflation pressures seem likely to moderate over time, the high level of resource utilization has the potential to sustain those pressures."

That being the case, the Federal Open Market Committee's "predominant policy concern remains the risk that inflation will fail to moderate as expected."

The statement said any future adjustments will depend on the outlook for both inflation and economic growth, as implied by the incoming information.

As the Fed statement noted, data on the economy have been inconsistent, leading to repeated promises from bankers that they will use all available numbers before making any moves.