Markets are mixed as the Fed sticks to its plan to hike interest rates in March

The Fed will stick to its plan to raise interest rates in March, according to a report from this week’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting released today. While the move comes as no surprise, markets are still mixed.

The Fed wants to raise interest rates

Both the crypto and traditional markets plunged following today’s FOMC meeting report and Q&A session by Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

The Federal Open Market Committee has announced that while it will not propose an immediate rate hike, it will stick to the tapering plan announced last December – effectively ending asset purchases and raising interest rates in early March.

Both Bitcoin and Ethereum rallied in the minutes leading up to the FOMC announcement at 2:00 a.m. local time and then surged even more a few minutes later. Bitcoin surged to $38,928.

BTC/USDT. Source: TradingView

Ethereum price action is similar with an intraday high of $2,722

ETH/USDT. Source: TradingView

The upbeat sentiment was short-lived, however, as both assets began falling ahead of Fed Chair Powell’s Q&A session shortly after the FOMC meeting. At press time, both coins have wiped out their daily gains.

Chairman Powell stressed that the monetary policy goals mandated by Congress for the Fed are full employment and price stability. He emphasized that the most important way to achieve these goals is to adjust interest rates. However, the question of how much interest rates will rise (0.25% seems to be expected) seems to have investors on edge.

In his speech, Powell acknowledged that the majority of the workforce could not show up for work under the current circumstances. However, he expects the effects of the Omicron wave to be short-lived.

The Chairman noted that inflation was much higher than the Federal Reserve’s target rate of 2%, caused by “supply and demand imbalances”. Earlier this month, the December CPI hit a record 7%, which pushed the Bitcoin price higher.

Citing a “tight” labor market, Powell concluded that the economy no longer needed “sustained monetary support.” Therefore, the Fed’s plan to hike rates and trim the balance sheet in March remains in effect.

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