Dove or Hawk?—Fed Chair Jerome Powell Bracing America for ‘Ongoing’ Rate Increases

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell at the Federal Reserve Building in Washington, on Dec. 14, 2022. Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates on Feb. 1 by 25 basis points, lifting the target rate to a more than 15-year high of 4.50 to 4.75 percent.

While investors had anticipated a quarter-point jump to the benchmark federal funds rate, financial markets added to their losses when the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) statement revealed “ongoing” rate hikes and “future increases.” However, that negative sentiment quickly turned positive during Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s post-FOMC news conference, igniting a late-day rally on Wall Street and erasing its losses.