Barclays Predicts “Sufficiently Restrictive” FOMC Stance On Fed Rate Hike

Crypto Market News: Barclays on Wednesday predicted a likely version of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) statement ahead of the crucial meeting. While the markets are expecting a 25 bps Fed funds target rate from the current range of 4.75 to 5%, it is the likelihood of a ‘dovish’ signal that could rake up markets which are already stressed from the impact of the U.S. regional banking crisis. In this context, Barclays released its version on how the official Fed statement could be.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq closed with over 1% drop on Tuesday, while another regional bank, PacWest Bancorp’s stock dropped around 28% during the day. The sentiment continued on Wednesday in the pre-market hours. On the other hand, the US Dollar Index (DXY) also dropped, continuing in the lowest range since February 2023.

Barclays Predicts Dovish Stance

The bank predicts a Fed statement giving signs of dovish sentiment, although with an increase in rate hike by 25 bps, as per market expectations. Overall, the statement is dovish in nature but comes with a warning of further tightening risks depending on the economic conditions. The predicted statement said,

“The committee judges that with today’s increase in the target range, the stance of monetary policy is sufficiently restrictive to return inflation to 2 percent over time. However, the committee is prepared to tighten further the stance of monetary policy as warranted.”

Meanwhile, Bitcoin price remains to trade at the $28,000 level while traders anticipate the FOMC statement.