Federal Reserve’s March 19 FOMC Statement Revises Labor Language as Christopher Waller Backs Unchanged Rates

CME FedWatch shows markets fully expect the Federal Reserve to keep rates unchanged in April, with only limited odds of a cumulative 25-basis-point cut emerging by June or July.

Summary

Following the Federal Reserve’s March 19 rate decision, CME FedWatch showed a 100% probability that the central bank will keep interest rates unchanged at the April meeting. As of March 19, the tool assigned an 11.2% probability to a cumulative 25-basis-point cut by June, while the probability of no change stood at 88.8%. By July, the probability of no change was 77.4%. This update adds more detailed market-implied expectations to the existing context around the March 19 FOMC statement, which revised labor language, referenced uncertain economic effects from Middle East developments, and coincided with Governor Christopher Waller backing unchanged rates rather than a 25-basis-point cut.

Terms & Concepts
  • FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee): The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy panel that sets benchmark U.S. interest rates and guides broader financial conditions.
  • basis point: A unit equal to one-hundredth of a percentage point, commonly used to describe interest-rate changes such as a 25-basis-point move.
  • CME FedWatch: A market-based tool that estimates probabilities for future Federal Reserve rate outcomes using interest rate futures pricing.