FOMC Commentary from MBA's Mike Fratantoni

The following is MBA SVP and Chief Economist Mike Fratantoni’s commentary following the Federal Reserve’s FOMC statement released this afternoon on monetary policy and the economy:

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“The FOMC kept the federal funds target unchanged at its April meeting, likely to be Chair Powell’s last. Inflation has increased and is likely to rise further, given the oil price shock from the war in the Middle East. The job market has also remained resilient.  

“There were four dissents to today’s decision, one to cut rates by a quarter of a percentage point, and three to remove the “easing bias” in the statement. Clearly, there are growing concerns regarding the inflation risk in this environment.

“MBA’s forecast is for the FOMC to remain on hold over the forecast horizon given these trends in the data.”