From: zerohedge

‘Dovish’ Powell Destroys ‘Hawkish’ Dots; Sends Stocks, Gold, & Crypto Soaring | ZeroHedge

The FOMC dropped its dot-plot and it was unequivocally more hawkish than the Dec dots with 2024 flat at 3 cuts (though more voters moved towards only 50bps), but 2025 and beyond saw rate-cuts erased from the projections…

Then Powell stepped up to the lectern and dropped the dovish mic on any hawkish interpretation of the dots.

Powell reiterated his long-held view that the dot-plot does not amount to a “plan”.

Powell calls the longer run interest rate change “pretty modest”.

However, Powell did admit rates are unlikely to be going ZIRP anytime soon:

If the Fed eases too much or too soon, he says, we could see inflation come back.

And if we ease too late, we could do unnecessary harm to employment.

Powell says, stressing that

Powell signaled balance sheet reduction will slow (less QT >> more QE):

Powell also rather dismissed the recent jump in inflation:

Powell says about the January CPI and PCE figures, and then says that February PCE wasn’t “terribly high.”

So, wait, the seasonally-adjusted data is showing seasonal affects now?

Powell watching every uptick in Brent until the June FOMC pic.twitter.com/ICuQffT8F3

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) March 20, 2024

So uber-dovish: Brad Conger, chief investment officer at Hirtle Callaghan & Co., weighs in:

Financial Conditions are literally at the same level of ‘looseness’ as they were before The Fed hiking cycle began…

Powell had an opening to talk down the rallies and risk assets and didn’t take it. It’s just unbelievable (except in an election year) that he didn’t even acknowledge the questioner’s characterization of financial conditions as having eased.

And, comically, rate-cut expectations actually (dovishly) increased today for 2024…