The Federal Reserve raising interest rates Wednesday, Sept. 16, for the first time since 2023, lifting its benchmark a quarter point to 3.75%-4%, took center stage for those watching markets during the week.
The vote was unanimous, 12-0, and 16 of the 18 policymakers who submitted forecasts penciled in at least one more rate increase this year.
Inflation is running at 3.4%, unchanged from July but well above the Fed's 2% target. The Fed now sees a return to the objective no earlier than 2029.
Officials revised their forecasts for inflation and growth higher, and unemployment lower.
Fed Chair Kevin Warsh said the central bank had removed "a dose of accommodation." Asked what message he had for President Donald Trump, who has spent months demanding
cuts, Warsh said he had "nothing for you."
The Fed's next meeting is in late October, days before the midterm elections.
The bond market had already moved.
The 10-year Treasury yield touched 5.04% ahead of the decision, its highest level since 2007, as investors weighed whether the Fed could contain price pressures with oil above $100 a barrel.
Fuel was the week's real disruption.
Why everyone's talking about diesel
Diesel set records nationally, with the average topping $6.30 a gallon, after a drone strike damaged pumping stations on Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline, the line carrying crude to the Red Sea.
Michigan's average for regular hit about $4.76 a gallon on Wednesday, up roughly 45 cents in a week and closed on the state record of $5.22 set in June 2022. Diesel set a Michigan record at $6.54.
Those costs are already reaching earnings.
J.B. Hunt Transport Services, one of the largest U.S. trucking and intermodal carriers, warned Wednesday that third-quarter profit would fall 5% to 10%, citing $25 million in added driver expenses and more than $10 million from fuel.
Chief Financial Officer Brad Delco described "some of the most radical and abnormal swings" in fuel prices the company has experienced.
The stock fell 13.3% Wednesday, and marked the worst weekly mover in the S&P 500. Schneider National, Old Dominion, Knight-Swift, XPO and Landstar fell with it.
Detroit auto stocks
Detroit's automakers logged a second straight losing week.
General Motors fell about 3.5%, Ford roughly 5%. At the same conference where J.B. Hunt spoke, GM Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson said the changeover to next-generation pickups will cost about 35,000 fourth-quarter deliveries.
Benzinga is a financial news and data company headquartered in Detroit.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Fed raises interest rates but the real hurt is the price of diesel
