Federal Reserve Expects Economic Growth
Saturday, December 16th, 2017 -- 7:09 AM
Federal Reserve policymakers expect U.S. economic growth will accelerate next year and the unemployment rate will fall to 3.9 percent from its current level of 4.1 percent.The report from the Associated Press says, they still plan to raise short-term interest rates three times next year and at least twice in 2019, the same as previous estimates. Fed officials sharply increased their growth projection for 2018, to 2.5 percent from 2.1 percent in September. Some analysts thought the faster growth would cause the Fed to pencil in four rates next year, rather than three.
Ultra-low unemployment can cause employers to pay more in order to attract and keep workers, which in turn can lead to higher prices. Yet the Fed sees inflation remaining 1.9 percent next year and just 2 percent in 2019 and 2020.
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