| Matt BenjaminSenior Markets Expert | | Predicting the course of interest rates is no easy task. That's because the Fed really is data-dependent. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will chart its course on interest rates based on the economic data that comes in... and the analysis of that data by the 400 Ph.D. economists it employs. And because predicting what the economy will do is inherently difficult, making projections on interest rates is also tricky - and it gets increasingly difficult the further out in time you project. Therefore, my rate forecast is also largely based on what I believe the economy will do. And keep in mind that any kind of unexpected supply or demand shock - like another COVID-19 flare-up, an oil price spike, etc. - would force us to throw all our projections out the window. But assuming those things don't occur, I'm optimistic about the economy for several reasons... | Marc LichtenfeldChief Income Strategist | | I don't believe the Fed has garnered this much attention since CNBC used to try to guess the direction of interest rates by how full former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan's briefcase looked. In the Annual Forecast Issue of The Oxford Income Letter in January, I went against the grain and said interest rates wouldn't drop by much - if at all - in 2024 due to the lack of a recession and the potential for inflation to continue burning too brightly. So far, that's been the case. At the beginning of the year, the consensus was that there would be six rate cuts in 2024. Today, according to both the Fed's dot plot and the federal funds futures market, that number is down to three. But I don't believe there will be any. Here's why... | Anthony SummersDirector of Trading | | I think there's a slim chance that the Fed cuts rates this year. There are two main data points that strongly undermine the case for lower rates. The first and foremost is sticky inflation. Over the past two years, the Fed has made great progress in taming inflation. From its June 2022 high of 9.1%, it's down roughly two-thirds to 3.2%. That's still too high, though - about 60% higher than the Fed's long-term target of 2%. If inflation remains sticky, the Fed will have no reason to lower rates. In fact, that would strengthen the case for higher rates, especially given the economy's current strength. That brings me to the second data point... |
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