Rates Remain Unchanged, Fed To Start $4.5 Trillion Bond Portfolio Sell-Off In October
The U.S. Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged for September and confirmed it will begin shrinking its massive $4.5 trillion bond portfolio, acquired during the financial crisis, in October.
Fed governors signaled one more rate hike was coming this year, and that they will continue to strategically tighten monetary policy by gradually increasing short-term benchmark interest rates going into next year.
“We believe the recovery is on a strong track,” Fed Chair Janet Yellen said Wednesday after the central bankers’ two-day meeting concluded, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The next interest rate hike will mark the third move this year — once in March and a second time in June — that boosted benchmark rates to a range of 1% to 1.25%. Though these moves did shift long-term rates up a bit coming in to 2017, the 10-year Treasury is now hovering around 2.26%, down from 2.45% in Q4 2016 and up from last quarter’s 2.16% average.
To dive further into Fed policy and how it is impacting the commercial real estate industry, check out this story.
