Fed to leave door open to June rate hike

Despite the marked improvement in financial conditions and fading fears over China’s economic outlook, the Fed is very unlikely to raise interest rates at the upcoming FOMC meeting, which concludes on Wednesday 27th April. Nevertheless, we expect the Fed to leave the door open to a rate hike at the next meeting in mid-June. In total, we expect the Fed to hike rates three times this year, to a range of 1.00% to 1.25% at year-end, as officials switch their focus from downside global risks to rising core inflation.