US FED Meet: What To Expect From FOMC's Chair Jerome Powell On June 18? Check Federal Reserve Policy Time

US Federal Reserve Meeting: All eyes are set on FOMC members led by chair Jerome Powell, who will present the US Federal Reserve policy on Wednesday, June 18. Ahead of the Fed policy, US stock futures traded in a narrow range on the expectation of the FOMC keeping key interest rates unchanged for the fourth time in 2025. Meanwhile, European markets were in the red, while Asian stocks showed mixed performance. Crude oil surged, and gold pulled back.

US Fed Policy Expectations:

"The Federal Reserve is widely expected to leave monetary policy unchanged on 18 June. Central Bank officials have suggested they will be patient in assessing the impact of the President's tariff policy on growth and inflation, implying little prospect of a rate change before September. The key thing to watch will be updated Fed forecasts and whether they continue to point to 50bp of rate cuts both this year and next," said Dutch multinational bank ING's research report.

Given this remains in line with market pricing, ING's note said, "we sense they will choose to stick with them, but the risk is that switches to 25bp for this year and 75bp for next given uncertainty on how quickly inflation will slow after tariffs hit."

In fact, ING is not predicting a rate cut before December policy. Highlighting further, ING's note said, that while the 'Liberation Day' tariffs have been scaled back in the wake of some significant market angst in April there is concern that some damage has resulted and there continues to be the risk of occasional flare-ups in tensions.

ING's note added that steep falls in consumer confidence suggest downside risk to consumer spending growth as households worry that tariff-induced price spikes will squeeze spending power at a time when perceptions of the jobs market are deteriorating. Meanwhile, a lack of clarity on the trading environment means there is the potential for corporates to delay decisions on hiring and investment.

Although tariffs do risk higher goods prices this is likely to keep the Fed cautious. As per the Federal Reserve's Beige Book, there were widespread reports of contacts expecting costs and prices to rise at a faster rate going forward. A few Districts described these expected cost increases as strong, significant, or substantial".

Accordingly, ING said, so while recent benign inflation prints are welcome, we think investors should be braced for the month-on-month rates to pick up to 0.4% or even 0.5% from July onwards. Tariff-induced price hikes could be amplified further if the spike in energy prices in the wake of the Israeli attacks on Iran is sustained.

"We therefore think September is too soon for the Fed to be comfortable cutting interest rates. We will only have data for July and August by that point and we don't think there will be enough evidence of labour market stress to offset the fears that near-term elevated inflation readings could persist," ING said.

Instead, the Dutch bank thinks that December is the more likely starting point for the Fed to start cutting interest rates.

In the May 2025 policy, the Fed decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 4-1/4 to 4-1/2 per cent, while strongly committed to supporting maximum employment and returning inflation to its 2 per cent objective. This will be the third consecutive pause by the Fed in key rates.

During the May announcement, the Fed said, that although swings in net exports have affected the data, recent indicators suggest that economic activity has continued to expand at a solid pace. The unemployment rate has stabilized at a low level in recent months, and labor market conditions remain solid. Inflation remains somewhat elevated.

US Fed Meeting Date:

The 2-days meeting of FOMC commenced from June 17, while its outcome will be announced on Wednesday, June 18. This will be Fed's fourth monetary policy of the year.

US Fed Meeting Time:

The rates decision will be announced at 2:00 PM EST on June 18. This will be 11:30 Am of Wednesday, June 18 at Indian Standard Time (IST).

Where To Watch Live Stream Of Fed Policy:

As per Federal Reserve's update, you can watch the press conference of FOMC and chair Jerome Powell at their official Youtube channel. Click On Links Below: