United States Interest Rate

The Fed announced another 25bps cut to the federal funds rate in December 2024, marking the third consecutive reduction this year and bringing borrowing costs to the 4.25%-4.5% range, in line with expectations. The so-called dot plot indicates that policymakers now anticipate just two rate cuts in 2025, totaling 50 basis points, compared to the full percentage point of reductions projected in the previous quarter. The Fed also revised its GDP growth forecasts upward for 2024 (2.5% vs to 2% in the September projection) and 2025 (2.1% vs 2%), while remaining steady at 2% for 2026. Similarly, PCE inflation projections have been adjusted higher for 2024 (2.4% vs 2.3%), 2025 (2.5% vs 2.1%), and 2026 (2.1% vs 2%). The same trend applies to core PCE inflation, with forecasts raised for 2024 (2.8% vs 2.6%), 2025 (2.5% vs 2.2%), and 2026 (2.2% vs 2%). On the other hand, unemployment is seen lower this year (4.2% vs 4.4%) and in 2025 (4.3% vs 4.4%) while the forecast was kept at 4.3% for 2026.