The U.S. Federal Reserve is poised to moderate its aggressive tightening Wednesday while signaling that interest rates will ultimately go higher than previously forecast.
The tricky part for Chairman Jerome Powell will be convincing investors that this isn’t a dovish pivot and that officials won’t prematurely end their assault against inflation that’s running three times higher than their 2% goal.
The Federal Open Market Committee is widely expected to raise rates by 50 basis points and bring its benchmark target rate to a range of 4.25% to 4.5%, the highest since 2007. Fresh quarterly economic projections released after the meeting will also shed light on how much further policymakers expect rates to go.