Global economies continues to face challenges of price pressures. To bring inflation back down in the US, the Federal Reserve announced raising interest rates. Chair Jerome Powell said in a public report on Wednesday that the Fed raised its policy rate by 3/4 percentage point, which is the highest interest rate hike for decades. Last time the Bank executed such a high rise was in 1994. The Fed's policy also includes decreasing the size of its balance sheet.
Related: Fed Raised Interest Rates by Half Point, Crypto Market Responds
Watch Chair Powell's statement from the #FOMC press conference:
— Federal Reserve (@federalreserve) June 15, 2022
Intro clip: https://t.co/Y3l7YqcWtw
Full video: https://t.co/JjXfKZpKef
Press Conference materials: https://t.co/nAdBVSVVT0
Powell stated that the labor market is tight and inflation is too high. The rate remains well-above the Fed’s longer-run goal of 2%.
In May, the 12-month change in the Consumer Price Index came in above expectations at 8.6 percent. Powel said the Fed will keep adapting its policy according to the evolvements of the economic conditions.
Amid the market uncertainty, stocks and cryptocurrencies started showing signs of growth. In the last 24 hours, prices of Bitcoin and Ether rose by around 5% and 8% respectively. Currently, Bitcoin trades at around $21,600 and Ether at $1,100. The global market cap increased by 3.6%. Currently, the metric stands at around $931 billion.