New Fed chair Kevin Warsh leads first Open Market Committee meeting
by Joe Fisher · UPIJune 17 (UPI) -- Kevin Warsh will take to the podium Wednesday for the first time as the chairman of the Federal Reserve to reveal the latest interest rate decision.
The Federal Open Market Committee has held interest rates in a 3.5% to 3.75% range throughout the year as inflation has proven stubborn, even surging with the war in Iran. Energy prices, particularly gas and oil, have driven increased prices since the war started on Feb. 28.
Warsh has said the Federal Reserve will uphold its independence from political influence. President Donald Trump pushed for his predecessor Jerome Powell to be removed, in part because of the Fed's refusal to lower interest rates as he wished.
Economists expect the FOMC to keep the target interest rate range where it is after the consumer price index rose at an annual rate of 4.2% last month, the largest increase in three years. The CPI is the key metric the Fed considers when determining monetary policy.
The index for energy increased by 3.9% in May alone, accounting for 60% of the monthly all-items increase in inflation.
Under Powell's leadership, the Fed targeted cooling inflation to a 2% rate.
The FOMC will also release its projections for interest rates to come, giving economists an insight into how its members foresee future changes in interest rates in the short term.
Warsh will hold the Federal Reserve's news conference at 2:30 p.m. EDT.
This week in Washington
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters about restoring commercial fishing access to areas of the Pacific during a signing ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House on Thursday. Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo/UPI | License Photo