National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU) Chief Economist Curt Long issued the following statement today in response to the Federal Open Market Committee’s December meeting minutes when the announcement of an interest-rate increase was made.
“Now that liftoff is behind us, the question on everyone’s mind is how quickly rates will normalize,” said Long. “The Fed appears to be eyeing four quarter-point rate increases in 2016, but that depends on a lot of factors falling into place. The minutes indicated that the committee is somewhat less pessimistic about the possibility of slow growth abroad and the threat that might pose to the U.S. than many observers. As for inflation, there appears to be a growing divergence of views about risks to the Fed’s 2 percent target from lower oil prices and a stronger dollar."