Today's FOMC, what does it all mean? - ING

Analysts at ING, observing that the Fed was raising rates by 25bp, and indicating more hikes ahead summed up by saying that all this indicates that more rate hikes are likely on the way. 

Key Quotes:

"The US economy continues to grow strongly and fiscal stimulus will boost the expansion further. With inflation set to pick up towards the summer, we think three more rate increases in 2018 is the base case. Should momentum remain strong into 2019, there is a chance that we could see another three hikes in 2019.

That said, we see to two key risks that could prompt the FOMC to reassess the outlook, which Chairman Powell is likely to be asked about in the upcoming press conference. The first is renewed market turmoil: while the Fed appears fairly sanguine about the VIX episode in early February, a more severe and sustained bout of volatility that led to a tightening of financial conditions could give the Fed reason to pause. The other risk is an escalation of tensions around the US’ aggressive tariff policy into a full-blown trade war, which could cause the global economy to slow down pre-maturely."