Federal Reserve: a news-free performance. Overview for 02.11.2023

The primary currency pair remains in equilibrium on Thursday. The current EURUSD exchange rate stands at 1.0599.

So, the US Federal Reserve held a meeting where it made all the necessary monetary decisions. The interest rate remained at 5.50% per annum, as expected.

However, the comments of the Fed Chair Jerome Powell did not come as a surprise. Overall, the rhetoric remained hawkish, i.e., quite tough. While the Fed is not considering lowering the rate now, it is keeping the possibility of a rate hike open. The regulator continues to taper its balance sheet, but it is doing so elegantly slowly - for now, it is simply not reinvesting funds from maturing securities. No mention is made of selling other securities. From March to now, the balance sheet has fallen to USD 7.9 trillion from USD 8.7 trillion.

The Fed assesses inflation as being high, and the labour market as strong. The US economy is growing rapidly, and business remains resilient.

The Fed does not foresee a recession, which is a positive sign for the economy. However, some economic easing will probably be needed to reduce the rate of inflation.

The US dollar was not impressed by these comments at all. Everything remains in place.