While we await the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) Statement due today and Federal Reserve Chair Powell's press conference after, some snippets from Bank of America on what they expect from the Bank in 2024.
In brief:
- "2023 defied almost everyone's expectations: recessions that never came, rate cuts that didn't materialize, bond markets that didn't bounce, except in short-lived, vicious spurts, and rising equities that pained most investors who remained cautiously underweight,"
- "We expect 2024 to be the year when central banks can successfully orchestrate a soft landing, though recognize that downside risks may outnumber the upside ones."
- recent wage growth trends seem "very sustainable and consistent with low inflation", and Fed officials will "be heartened by this and it's probably going to allow them to take stock of what's happening with inflation"
- BoiA add that if wage growth trends like this sustain then the likelihood of a soft landing will rise
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Timings for the statement and press conference are 1400 and 1430 US Eastern time (19+00 and 1930 GMT as listed below in the screenshot.
This snapshot from the ForexLive economic data calendar, access it here.
