Goldman Sachs Interprets Fed Decision: May Narrowly Avoid Rate Hikes, Inflation Will Be Key Variable

2026-06-18 by admin

PANews, June 18 – According to Jinshi reports, Goldman Sachs Asset Management analyst Kay Haigh stated that today’s interest rate decision confirms the Fed’s recent hawkish shift is not solely related to rising energy prices. Despite the recent pullback in oil prices, half of the FOMC members expect rate hikes as early as this year, reflecting strong labor market and inflation data. Our base case remains that the Fed can narrowly avoid raising rates, but the path is narrow, and future inflation data will carry significant weight.

According to TechFlow news on June 18th, as reported by CCTV News, the Federal Reserve announced on the 17th that it would keep the federal funds rate target range unchanged at 3.5% to 3.75%. This decision to maintain the rate for the fourth consecutive time this year is in line with market expectations.The Fed's Summary of Economic Projections released simultaneously shows that the median forecast for the federal funds rate by Fed officials for 2026 has been raised from 3.4% in March to 3.8%. This indicates that Fed officials anticipate implementing rate hikes this year. The Summary of Economic Projections also reveals that the Fed has significantly raised the median forecast for the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index increase this year from 2.7% in March to 3.6%, and the median forecast for core inflation this year has risen from 2.7% to 3.3%. The forecast for U.S. economic growth this year has been revised down from the previous 2.4% to 2.2%.On the 17th, Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh stated in his first press conference after assuming office as central bank chief that policymakers are committed to 'achieving price stability.' He acknowledged that inflation has been well above the Fed's 2% target and said, 'Persistently high prices are a burden on American families.'

PANews, June 18 – According to The Block, Strategy’s preferred stock STRC closed at $89 on Wednesday, down 11% from its $100 par value, and hit an intraday low of $88.50, marking its lowest closing price since listing. STRC currently pays an effective dividend yield of 12.9%, designed to maintain a stable price of around $100 through monthly interest rate adjustments. When the stock price is above par value, Strategy issues new shares to purchase Bitcoin, but the plan has been suspended while STRC trades at a discount. STRC is Strategy’s most liquid and actively traded preferred stock, with a trading volume of $417.5 million today. Rival Strive’s SATA traded above $99 on Wednesday with a dividend yield of 13.69%, outperforming STRC.