With just hours left until the US Federal Reserve publishes its decision whether it will change in any way the key interest rates, BTC’s price has dived by roughly two grand in minutes, dropping to a multi-day low of under $72,500.
This would be the second-to-last FOMC meeting before the Fed’s chair, Jerome Powell, leaves office as his four-year term expires on May 15.
FOMC Today: What to Expect
The general consensus among experts and prediction platforms is that there will be no changes to the interest rates today. According to most reports, Powell will likely keep them the same, as the war in the Middle East has only increased uncertainty, with gas prices jumping worldwide.
“Heading into the March [Federal Open Market Committee] meeting, the key question for the Fed is how to handle oil price shocks,” wrote Morgan Stanley economists in a recent note as cited by NBC News.
At the same time, economists at UBS reaffirmed the narrative that the Fed will not pivot on its most recent monetary policy. BeiChen Lin, a senior investment strategist at Russell Investments, also believes there won’t be any changes today, but noted that “any hints Chair Powell might drop about the path of future interest rates will be key.”
US President Trump continues to request that Powell cut the rates, which has brought him little to no success over the past several months. It appears he would have to wait for his nominee, Kevin Warsh, to replace Powell in mid-May.
As reported yesterday, the central banks for the UK and the European Union will also have such meetings in the near future, but the landscape in those jurisdictions is rather identical, as the market does not expect any changes.
Bitcoin Slips
Bitcoin became one of the top-performing assets since the war started on February 28, and jumped from a then-low of $63,000 to $76,000 marked yesterday morning. Although it was stopped there, it managed to hold above $74,000 until a few hours ago.
That’s when it started to lose value rapidly, dropping by around two grand in 90-120 minutes. The asset has a long history of reacting with intense volatility to Powell’s speeches, and more fluctuations are expected today, even if the Fed indeed leaves the rates as they are.
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