Yesterday the Federal Reserve released the minutes from their most recent policy meeting that took place on July 31. Investors were hoping that the report would contain hints as to whether the Fed intends to continue loosening its monetary policy with further rate cuts.
However, those hoping for more interest rate decreases were left disappointed. The minutes revealed that the members of the Federal Reserve did not reach the decision to slash rates unanimously. Nevertheless, they are certain that they want to avoid an aggressive course, so they don’t plan on implementing a series of further rate cuts.
Tomorrow the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, will speak at the Jackson Hole forum. Investors will be mindful of what he says, since the yield curve has flipped, giving a possible sign of an impending recession coming to the United States. Powell may still speak of some dovish measures in case data worsens, despite what the minutes pointed to.
In the light of yesterday’s report, the US dollar remained strong. It climbed to 107.79 against the Japanese yen and 0.9822 against the safe haven Swiss franc.