Warsh to Face Spotlight as Federal Reserve Likely to Leave Interest Rates Unchanged
Economists expect no change as the Fed releases new projections and Warsh uses his first press conference to signal how he will handle inflation.
- On Wednesday, June 17, 2026, Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh led his first policy meeting, holding interest rates steady at 3.50–3.75% and releasing the quarterly Summary of Economic Projections.
- Persistent inflationary pressures, currently at 4.2% due to energy costs linked to the U.S.-Iran conflict, prompted the committee to maintain borrowing costs despite administration calls for lower rates.
- Internal committee forecasts reveal a sharp divide; nine of 18 policymakers now anticipate at least one rate hike this year, challenging previous market expectations of a sustained pause.
- During his debut press conference, Warsh indicated a shift toward less detailed forward guidance, signaling a desire to reduce reliance on traditional interest rate projections like the dot plot.
- Former Chair Jerome Powell retained his board seat until 2028, creating an unusual governing dynamic that complicates Warsh's reform efforts amid ongoing questions about the central bank's independence.
323 Articles
323 Articles
The new head of the US Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, has been under maximum pressure from the start. But most critics agree that he came out of his first interest rate meeting well.
The Federal Reserve did yesterday what the market discounted with a probability close to 97%: it kept the federal fund rate unchanged, in the range of 3.50 to 3.75%, its fourth consecutive pause, this time by unanimous vote. The news was not that it remained unchanged. The relevant thing was everything else. It was the first meeting chaired by Kevin Warsh, who took protest on May 22 as the seventeenth holder of the US central bank, and his debut…
The US central bank didn't mess with interest this Wednesday, and the new boss, Kevin Warsh, did everything to ensure that investors can't anticipate what the Fed is going to do by the end of the year. But markets have read the published projections and now forecast two interest increases, the first as early as September.
Kevin Warsh was Donald Trump's wish candidate at the top of the Fed. He has been one of the biggest critics of the Central Bank for years. Now he leaves the interest rates unchanged, and plans a few major changes.
Kevin Warsh faces first rate decision as Fed Chair
Kevin Warsh and the board of the Federal Reserve must decide on changing or holding the rate that has a huge impact on the economy. Between rising inflation and political pressures, it’s a big first test, as CGTN's Owen Fairclough reports.For more, check
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