FX.co ★ Fed to Keep Rates Steady at New Chair's First Meeting

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to leave the federal funds rate unchanged at 3.50%–3.75% for a fourth consecutive meeting in June 2026, as policymakers contend with persistent inflation and uncertainty over how quickly price pressures will recede. This will be the first meeting chaired by newly appointed Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, whose nomination was initially seen as favoring interest rate cuts and looser policy. Since then, however, market expectations have shifted toward a more hawkish outlook.

Although the United States and Iran have reached a provisional peace agreement, oil prices remain above pre-war levels, and recent labor market data continue to indicate robust employment conditions. Against this backdrop, investors will scrutinize the Fed’s updated economic projections—particularly the “dot plot”—for clues about the future path of interest rates. Many analysts, however, anticipate that Chair Warsh will not contribute his own projection to the dot plot. As of March, the Fed’s forecasts had signaled one rate cut in 2026 and another in 2027.