U.S. Federal Reserve Outlook For 2019: At Most One Rate Hike
Q&A with John L. Bellows, Portfolio Manager at Western Asset Management
You track the U.S. Federal Reserve ((FED)) very closely. What are your expectations for 2019?
Our outlook for moves by the Fed relies on three main points:
- The Fed struggled in 2018, with its officials making contradictory statements about its assessments of the "neutral rate," which confused markets and spiked volatility.
- We expect to see clearer communications from the Fed in 2019 and believe it will adopt a data-dependent, "wait and see" approach.