The Federal Reserve will announce its policy decision at 2 p.m. ET today and the central bank is expected to hold interest rates at near-zero.
With the nation’s attention fixated on the outcome of the presidential election, the Fed will likely take a wait-and-see approach to any further monetary policy action.
Fed policymakers may defer until the December meeting to provide further accommodation in the absence of fiscal policy but in the presence of rising COVID-19 cases at home and abroad.
At that point in time, the Fed may lean on its $7 trillion balance sheet by ramping up the pace of asset purchases or targeting longer-term securities. In his press conference this afternoon, Fed Chairman Jay Powell may offer some clues on how the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will approach potential tweaks to its quantitative easing program.
The central bank decision will be followed by Powell’s press conference which will kick off at 2:30 p.m. ET. As is the case with previous October/November FOMC meetings, there are no economic projections or dot plots expected alongside the policy statement.
Brian Cheung is a reporter covering the Fed, economics, and banking for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter @bcheungz.
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