BofA expects two more interest rate hikes from Fed, growth in Q4

BofA earlier expected the terminal rate to be held at the current 5%-5.25% range, but the change in forecast comes after the Fed kept its key rate unchanged in the 5%-5.25% on Wednesday, but signaled two more hikes might be needed in 2023 to tame inflation. The research firm said in a note late Wednesday that it now expects the Fed to increase rates in July and September, and also pushed out its rate-cut expectation to May 2024, from an earlier expectation of a cut in March.

BofA Global Research said it now expected two more quarter percentage point interest rate hikes from the U.S. Federal Reserve this year, taking its terminal rate forecast to 5.5% to 5.75%. BofA earlier expected the terminal rate to be held at the current 5%-5.25% range, but the change in forecast comes after the Fed kept its key rate unchanged in the 5%-5.25% on Wednesday, but signaled two more hikes might be needed in 2023 to tame inflation.

The research firm said in a note late Wednesday that it now expects the Fed to increase rates in July and September, and also pushed out its rate-cut expectation to May 2024, from an earlier expectation of a cut in March. Following a strong raise in economic growth forecast from the Fed, BofA now expects the U.S. economy to register a 1.1% quarter-on-quarter growth in the last quarter of 2023, raising it from a previous expectation of a 0.2% contraction.