Markets doubt whether US interest rates will climb

As with the Bank of England the previous week, last week’s meeting of the US Federal Reserve showed that it is more inclined to hike interest rates than many market participants seem to have been expecting.

The Fed is still suggesting that it is likely to do one further hike this year, having already increased rates by 25 basis points in March and June to bring them up to 1.125%.

Furthermore, it continues to guide that three more rate hikes are likely in 2018, which would bring them up to 2.125%.