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Federal Reserve Watch for July 29: FOMC Holds Rates Steady, Three Dissents for Higher Rates

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The FOMC maintained the target range for the federal funds rate at 3.50% to 3.75% and made no major changes to the statement, but three Fed presidents -- Beth Hammack, Neel Kashkari, and Lorie Logan -- dissented in favor of a 25-basis point rate increase.

There was no update to the Summary of Economic Projections at the meeting.

Fed Chair Kevin Warsh (voter) said that the FOMC will continue to act to deliver price stability, with its goal of 2% fully intact. Warsh added that markets have more recently been reacting to incoming data and events in the absence of Fed forward guidance. He also commented that the decision to maintain its target range had little to due to the softer consumer inflation data for June, repeating that the FOMC is focused on trends and not one piece of data.

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