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Fed Wants You to Know: It's Shifting to More Cautious Rate Path

  • Brainard says gradual hikes remain appropriate in ‘near term’
  • Investors still see around 70 percent odds of December hike
Federal Reserve Building Exteriors Prior To FOMC Rate Decision

Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

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The Federal Reserve is ready to shift off a mechanical pace of interest-rate increases every quarter and that could mean a slower pace of tightening next year.

That was the message from Fed Governor Lael Brainard, speaking on the final day before officials enter a blackout period for public comment ahead of their Dec. 18-19 meeting. She was hammering home an argument her colleagues have also communicated in recent weeks.