{"id":31256,"date":"2026-03-20T21:59:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T21:59:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/uncategorized\/31256\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T21:59:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T21:59:10","slug":"nordeas-sara-midtgaard-says-the-fed-held-rates-and-signalled-gradual-easing-with-future-25bp-cuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/live-updates\/31256\/","title":{"rendered":"Nordea\u2019s Sara Midtgaard says the Fed held rates and signalled gradual easing with future 25bp cuts"},"content":{"rendered":"The Federal Reserve kept its policy rate unchanged at 3.5\u20133.75%. The decision matched market expectations.\n\nUpdated projections point to slow easing ahead. The median forecast shows one 25 bp rate cut in 2026 and one 25 bp cut in 2027, unchanged from December.\n\nThe Fed said any cuts would depend on clear progress towards its inflation target. Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East were cited as a source of uncertainty for inflation and economic activity.\n\nThe note also set out a base case that rates stay on hold for the next two years. It added that near-term cuts are not expected.\n\nThe article was produced using an AI tool and reviewed by an editor.\n\nGiven the Federal Reserve&#8217;s decision to hold its policy rate in the 3.5-3.75% range, we see a clear signal of a higher-for-longer environment. The projection for only one small rate cut this year means traders should not position for imminent easing. This steady policy stance is likely to keep short-term interest rates anchored for the foreseeable future.\n\nThis cautious approach is supported by recent data, which makes the Fed\u2019s stance more credible. The latest Consumer Price Index report for February showed core inflation holding at 3.3%, still well above the 2% target. Combined with a resilient labor market that added 210,000 jobs last month, there is little pressure on the Fed to act quickly.\n\nFor the coming weeks, this suggests a strategy of selling volatility. With the Fed&#8217;s path clearly communicated, implied volatility on major indices should decrease, making strategies like selling VIX calls or establishing iron condors on the SPX attractive. Looking back at 2025, we saw how uncertainty around Fed pivots caused volatility spikes, a condition that now seems less likely.\n\nTraders should also look at interest rate futures, where the market may have been pricing in more aggressive cuts. As these expectations are unwound, there is an opportunity in selling SOFR futures contracts for the second half of 2026. This is reinforced by the 2-year Treasury yield, which has remained firm above 3.6% following the announcement, reflecting the market\u2019s adjustment.\n\nHowever, we must remain aware of the geopolitical risks mentioned. The situation in the Middle East could cause a sudden oil price shock, which would complicate the inflation picture. A prudent hedge would be to own some cheap, out-of-the-money call options on WTI crude oil or the VIX to protect against a sudden market disruption.\n<p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>Start trading now &#8211; Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/trade-now\/\">here<\/a> to create your real VT Markets account <\/strong> <\/p>\r\n<!-- \/wp:post-content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fed holds rates at 3.5\u20133.75%, signals no near-term cuts; slow easing depends on inflation progress, risks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-updates"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"josephine","author_link":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/author\/josephine\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31256"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31256\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}