Markets will be cautious ahead of potential bombshell from the US Fed tomorrow

[thenews]

The US Federal Reserve meet tomorrow and markets will remain cautious as to potentially impacting rhetoric/action in advance of the regular FOMC meeting in December

There's been plenty of talk in the comments sections here about the "expedited, closed" meeting scheduled by the Fed for 11.30 am ET tomorrow

There's only one item on the Agenda " Review and determination by the Board of Governors of the advance and discount rates to be charged by the Federal Reserve Banks."

Here's a snapshot from their website

The meeting was announced on Thursday and was given little attention at the time and I agree with those that say this is not necessarily lift-off day given the recent rhetoric about hikes in December. There have been other Monday meetings previously and this could well be just part of the decision making process.

But with increasing concerns over the impact of US rate hikes on others, particularly EM countries, it is understandable that they might be sticking these concerns high on their agenda and a closed meeting means that sensitive conversation can remain, in theory, confidential. However the site states that "A final announcement of matters considered under expedited procedures will be available in the Board's Freedom of Information and Public Affairs Offices and on the Board's Web site following the closed meeting".

As the hype escalates we may get some sort of statement from the Fed prior to assure markets of no nasty surprises but it's all a case of second-guessing, and I'm not one to base my trading on guesswork. I'll leave the conjecture to others, but we need to be aware, remain cautious and expect the unexpected as always nonetheless

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