In 2017 expectations are now for two rate hikes instead of three, and to reach 2.9% on the longer run versus 3% in June’s projections.
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Asian shares held near 14-month highs, while Japanese bond yields fell as investors continued to debate the Bank of Japan’s new policy scheme, which will seek to keep longer-dated yields around zero.
Oil prices hit a seven-week high on Thursday after new data showed US crude supplies were lower for the third straight week.
Amid heavy selling pressure, the 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the BSE had closed on Wednesday with a loss of 15.78 points or 0.06 per cent on Wednesday, after some volatile trading.
Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari, responding to questions from the public on Twitter, said he believed the labour market continues to have slack and that he wanted to see the unemployment rate, now at 4.9 percent, to come down.
But three members of the Fed’s 10-member policymaking committee voted to raise the benchmark rate, and most Fed officials said separately that they still expected to raise the rate once before the end of the year.
The Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate unchanged Wednesday but signaled it is likely to raise it later this year.
The component is made up of mostly tax-efficient REITs, or real estate investment trusts, which are often attractive to investors seeking dividends or a high yield stock that acts like a bond. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 118.58 points, or 0.65%, to 18,412.28, the S&P 500 had gained 12.05 points, or 0.56%, to 2,175.17 and the Nasdaq Composite had added 33.20 points, or 0.63%, to 5,328.38. AT&T rose 54 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $41.11. However, the US dollar has not followed suit, weakening following the Fed announcement.
The central bank appeared more confident on Wednesday, saying in its statement that near-term risks for the economic outlook “appear roughly balanced”.
The U.S. jobless rate now stands at 4.9 percent.
“December has seemed the likeliest month for some time, with the Fed likely to want the United States election in November out of the way before such an important shift is implemented”. In other energy commodities, heating oil rose 2.5 cents to $1.45 a gallon, wholesale gasoline rose less than 1 cent to $1.40 a gallon and natural gas fell 7 cents to $2.99 per 1,000 cubic feet.
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The 10-year U.S. Treasuries yield US10YT=RR dropped to as low as 1.608 percent, down sharply from Wednesday’s high of 1.738 percent and hitting its lowest level in nearly two weeks.
