Traders Keep Bets On One Fed Rate Hike In 2019

Washington (Nov 29)  Traders of U.S. short-term interest-rate futures on Wednesday stuck with bets the Federal Reserve will raise rates just once next year after what is widely expected to be four times by the end of this year, after the U.S. central bank released minutes of its most recent policy-setting meeting.

Contracts tied to the Fed’s policy rate that are traded at CME Group’s Chicago Board of Trade rose, after the Fed meeting minutes showed participants had discussed dropping from future statements a longstanding promise of “further gradual increases.” Still, the pricing of the contracts continued to signal expectations for a Fed rate hike next month, as well as one more rate hike next year, a view embedded in bets in the contracts since earlier this month.

Reuters