Federal Reserve

Rate hike odds spike across the board after Fed minutes

Lucas Jackson | Getty Images

Expectations for a June rate hike jumped as Federal Reserve meeting minutes released Wednesday showed that members would support it if economic data improved.

Ahead of the release, market expectations for a rate rise next month were 19 percent, while the markets were expecting the first rate hike of 2016 to take place in September, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.

After the statement, odds rose in all months tracked by CME:

  • June: 34 percent chance, up from 19 percent before the 2 p.m. EDT release
  • July: 51 percent chance, up from 38 percent
  • September: 63 percent, up from 57 percent
  • November: 65 percent, up from 60 percent
  • December: 77 percent, up from 74 percent
  • February 2017: 79 percent, up from 76 percent

The odds of rate hikes this year have risen broadly this week, as several Fed officials delivered hawkish remarks.

On Tuesday, three central bank officials indicated it may raise rates again soon.

Hawks make a stand at April Fed meeting, but doves still rule
Brian Moynihan, president and chief executive officer of Bank of America Corp., speaks during the 2016 Charlotte Chamber Economic Outlook.
Bank of America wants the Fed to hike rates

Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan said the U.S. economy is strong enough to justify an interest rate hike in the "not too distant future," but increases will be very gradual.

San Francisco Fed President John Williams and Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart both said the central bank's June meeting was a "live" one.

In Fed jargon, a "live" meeting is one at which officials could debate whether to raise their benchmark short-term interest rate, which since December has been in a range between 0.25 and 0.50 percent.

— Reuters contributed to this report.