Fed megaphone: The focus on dot plots masks the unanimous stance of Fed officials on staying on the sidelines

On June 11th, Nick Timiraos, "the mouthpiece of the Federal Reserve", wrote that investors will pay attention to whether Federal Reserve officials predict one or two interest rate cuts this year. For policymakers, the difficult decision of whether and when to cut interest rates and the growing disagreement are problems later, not now. < b > Instead, the market's excessive focus on dot plots masks the degree of consensus among policymakers in maintaining a wait-and-see attitude. At present, Federal Reserve officials still generally agree that the best course of action is to take no action. In fact, they are using this summer to evaluate employment, spending and inflation after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates to their highest level in 20 years. < b > The Federal Reserve is expected to hold interest rates steady at 5.25-5% this week. Officials are also likely to suggest in their carefully analyzed policy statement that they are more likely to cut rates next than raise them.