US Fed Meeting Live Updates: Fed's Chair Defends Rate Hike; White House Slams 'Unfortunate' Decision

US Fed Meeting Live Updates: The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.75%-4%, marking its first rate hike since July 2023. The decision comes as the US central bank grapples with persistent inflation, elevated energy prices and financial conditions that have kept borrowing costs high. Markets had largely anticipated the 25-basis-point move ahead of the September 15-16 FOMC meeting.

With the rate decision largely priced in, investors will now focus on US Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh’s speech. Warsh is scheduled to address the media at 12 midnight IST. His comments on inflation, oil prices, the labour market and the future path of interest rates will be closely watched by investors.

The Fed’s September

2026 dot plot shows a higher interest-rate path than projected in June. The median federal funds rate projection has been raised to 4.1% for 2026 from 3.8%, while the median for 2027 has been lifted to 4.1% from 3.6%. The median is now 3.9% for 2028, compared with 3.4% in June.

The Fed decision is also significant for Indian markets. Changes in US interest-rate expectations can influence the US dollar, Treasury yields, gold prices and global capital flows, with potential implications for the rupee, Nifty, Sensex, Indian bond yields and RBI policy. The rupee was already under pressure ahead of the decision, with the currency closing at 95.955 per dollar on Wednesday.

The decision comes against the backdrop of persistent US inflation and renewed energy-price pressures. US consumer prices rose 3.4% year-on-year in August, while CPI increased 0.4% month-on-month. Core CPI rose 0.3% in August and 2.4% annually.

The Fed’s communication will be closely watched by global markets. A key question is whether the September hike is a one-off move or the beginning of a broader tightening cycle. Investors will therefore track inflation and growth projections, Warsh’s comments and the Fed’s assessment of future rate moves.