London-Sana
The British Financial Times warned that the US Federal Reserve's attempt to curb high inflation in the US by raising interest rates could increase uncertainty and uncertainty in global markets.
And the newspaper considered that the strategy of the US central bank, after taking a decision such as raising interest rates, which currently range between 1.5 and 1.75 percent, has become unexpected, as the bank seeks to balance the necessary steps to face a new peak in consumer prices while curbing the risks of recession at the same time.
The newspaper pointed out that the Federal Open Market Committee will meet tomorrow, Wednesday, to discuss market expectations and raise its benchmark policy rate by 0.75 percentage points for the second month in a row, which may lead to raising the federal funds rate to a target range between 2.25 percent and 2.50 percent.
The newspaper pointed out that economic officials in the United States planned for a series of interest rate increases after this month, but with emerging signs of consumer distress and tentative predictions that the worst of the recent inflation shocks has passed, the Fed faces the increasingly difficult task of determining how to Reset its path forward.
The newspaper pointed out that US inflation rates reached new levels and the housing market became more sluggish in its business activity in the United States as many prominent companies suspended hiring plans or announced layoffs.
Economists, according to the newspaper, expect a recession in the next 6 to 12 months as the momentum in the labor market wanes, which may eventually lead to job losses and a rise in unemployment rates to nearly 5 percent, according to estimates.
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time in about 4 years, during last March, by 0.25 percent and by 0.5 percent at the May meeting, then by 0.75 percent last June, which is the highest rate hike since 1994.
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