NEW YORK, Dec 16 (Reuters) – U.S. stocks dropped for a third straight session and suffered a second straight week of losses on Friday as fears continued to mount that the Federal Reserve’s campaign to arrest inflation would tilt the economy into a recession.
Equities have been staggered since the U.S. central bank’s decision to raise interest rates by 50 basis points (bps), as expected. But comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled more policy tightening, and the central bank projected that interest rates would top the 5% mark in 2023, a level not seen since 2007.
Further comments from other Fed officials fueled the concern. New York Fed President John Williams said on Friday it remains possible the U.S. central bank will raise rates more than it expects next year. The policymaker added that he does not anticipate a recession due to the Fed’s aggressive tightening.
In addition, San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly said it is “reasonable” to believe that once the Fed’s policy rates reached their peak, they could stay there into 2024.
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Article URL : https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/futures-extend-losses-recession-fears-2022-12-16/