HSBC Previews Federal Open Market Committee

HSBC on Monday gave a preview of the Federal Open Market Committee's first meeting of 2015. The committee is expected to reiterate its focus on inflation. Economists Ryan Wang and Kevin Logan wrote, “At her press conference following the December meeting, Fed Chair Janet Yellen suggested that "patient" meant the FOMC would not make a policy move for at least two meetings, effectively ruling out rate hikes at the January or March FOMC meetings.” Inflation is under a downward pressure from falling import prices and lower energy costs. Thus the economists predict, “Without a strong set of conditions that convincingly point to higher inflation in the near term, the Committee is likely to pursue a cautious path and keep policy rates unchanged. As a result, we believe the FOMC is unlikely to raise the federal funds target range before September this year.” As of the end of December 2014, U.S. inflation is 0.8 percent.