Most Fed officials seek to slow pace of interest rate hikes

Throughout November, U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) officials advocated a more moderate pace of interest rate increases, thus implying a 50 basis point increase. In their view, if the current pace remains, the Fed's policy may become overtightening.

Many Fed officials believe it isn’t only appropriate, but necessary, to slow the pace of the increase. This fact came to light in the minutes of the Nov. 1-2 meeting, which were released Wednesday.

In his post-meeting press conference, Jerome Powell, the Fed Chair, said that the rate hike would largely surpass the numbers that officials had projected back in September. This was also presented in the recently released minutes.

Mostly, investors expect interest rates to increase by 50 basis points at the next Fed meeting on December 13-14. Moreover, it’s expected that rates could rise to 5% by the middle of next year. However, those expectations could change as it all depends on Powell's Nov. 30 speech in Washington.