JPMorgan And Citi Makes U-Turn On July Rate Cut Projection

Institutional giants JPMorgan and Citi have reversed their positions on a possible interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve in July. Both firms have now extended the timeline for a rate cut amid developing macroeconomic factors. The crypto market is down with assets posting reduced numbers amid skepticism ahead of the upcoming Fed meeting this week.

JPMorgan Scraps Projected July Rate Cuts

JPMorgan has made a U-turn on anticipated rate cuts in July after the U.S. jobs report. The better-than-expected job report saw institutional sentiments weaken towards a possible Federal Reserve rate cut. Most economists now expect the Feds to maintain the status quo with the first cuts coming in September and a second in December. However, others opine for only one cut this year. 

This comes on the back of the US Jobs Report which saw a 272,000 job increase last month against the projected 190,000. The report opposed previous analysis on a slowdown in the labor market and will likely see Feds maintain current rates. Similarly, unemployment rates rose to 4% last month triggering wider macroeconomic concerns on the market.

At the start of the year, many analysts projected more rate cuts to bolster the financial markets but the push against inflation remains a key indicator of rate changes. Most financial institutions like JPMorgan predicted two rate cuts which saw bullish reactions from the financial markets. In Q1 2024, stocks and crypto assets notched gains with bulls anticipating multiple rate cuts.

Impact on Crypto Market

Interest rate cuts have seen impacts on crypto prices over the years. This is because investors tend to remove funds from risky assets after each rate hike as seen in previous years. The recent projected shift in rate cuts led to a fall in crypto prices sparking wider liquidations. In the last 24 hours, crypto assets recorded losses before making a slight rebound. Bitcoin trades at $69,734, while Ethereum exchanges hands at $3,686, a 0.2% decline today.

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