Yesterday, Wednesday, the announcement of the next increase in the main US interest rate was eagerly awaited. However, Fed chief Jerome Powell was unable to cause any surprises. As with previous interest rate decisions, a further increase of 0.75 basis points was set, confirming analysts’ forecasts. The prime interest rate in the US is now in the 3.75 percent to 4 percent range.
More interesting than the rate decision itself, however, was Fed Chairman Powell’s subsequent press conference. He admitted that interest rate hikes this year were very steep in an effort to contain rising inflation in the US. Despite this, the inflation rate has not yet come down significantly. In the last survey for September, it was still over eight percent. However, the target is an increase of around 2 percent.
Will the central bank put the brakes on interest rates soon?
Powell indicated at his press conference that the high rate of rate hikes would not continue for much longer. After all, a lot was expected from the markets this year, after the big rise was the result of a zero interest rate policy. Powell made it clear that a very rapid pace of rate hikes is not important. The focus would be on lowering inflation sustainably without choking the labor market.
Therefore, according to Powell, it is quite possible that the Fed will slow down a bit with the next interest rate decision or the one after that. It is likely that the interest rate will be raised by only 0.5 basis points in the next step and will slowly reach the US base rate mark of 5 percent that analysts expect. It would certainly be surprising if the next interest rate adjustment was less than 0.5 basis points or if there was even a complete pause in the hike.
Chairman Powell answers reporters’ questions at the FOMC press conference on November 2, 2022. https://t.co/siWde1Rh9D pic.twitter.com/R2KRBRY87C
— Federal Reserve (@federalreserve) November 2, 2022
JP Morgan: Markets could be up 10 percent a day
According to experts, the last two cases could significantly wake up the mood on the financial markets and give a significant boost to the prices of Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies. The US bank JP Morgan even predicts that the American stock index S&P 500, in which the 500 most valuable listed companies in the US are listed, could rise by 10 percent within one trading day. The prerequisite for this is an interest rate increase of no more than 0.5 basis points in addition to Powell’s statement that inflation and the tense situation on the labor market would increase.
However, this is a dream for the future. The next Fed meeting and rate decision will be on 14 December. It is also the last meeting this year. The central bank could distribute a “little Christmas present” to the financial markets at the end of the year and only increase it by 0.5 basis points. This could be good for early 2023 as well. Another Fed meeting is not scheduled for January 31, 2023.
Rate hike already priced in: Ethereum price barely reacts
The financial markets barely reacted to yesterday’s interest rate decision. The prices on the US stock markets initially rose slightly and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum were also able to show a slight upward trend. The ETH/USD rate briefly increased from around $1,550 to $1,620. An increase of about 4 percent.
However, this little pump sold out immediately and the price even dropped to around $1,500. In the meantime, the price is balanced again at 1,550 dollars, so that the bottom line is that the interest rate decision had no effect on the markets at all. This is not surprising, however, since the central bank announced exactly what the markets were already pricing in.
For Ethereum buyers, this does not mean a change in the starting position. Crypto exchange traders trying to leverage the volatility of yesterday’s rate decision to go short or long also failed to make big profits. In principle, attention should be paid to such news events anyway, since the markets can react in an unpredictable way in a very short time and highly leveraged trades can be liquidated fast.
Bearish chart pattern: ETH/USD could drop to $1,350 soon
What can investors now expect from the price of Ethereum in the short term and until the end of 2022? Technical analysis of the Ethereum course helps for price forecasting.
Here, the 1-hour candles are showing that Ethereum may be forming a potentially bearish pattern. If the price of Ethereum falls below the slightly rising support zone currently at around $1,515, there is a risk of confirmation of a head and shoulders pattern. Then the technical price target is around $1,350, which represents a correction of more than 10 percent. So the price of Ethereum could fall back into the big consolidation zone in the short term, with ETH/USD staying almost a month without interruption between mid-September and mid-October.
The way US stock markets continue to respond is likely to respond to this situation. If the downward trend that prices have been developing during yesterday’s trading continues, things could go down very quickly.
Bullish scenario: 37 percent increase in 2022
However, the Ethereum chart looks a bit bullish in a slightly larger perspective. Because a symmetrical triangle can be seen here, from which the price of Ethereum broke out on October 26 and even confirmed this breakout by repeating the old resistance as a new support on October 28.
If Ethereum can continue this uptrend now, the technical price target is around $2,390. That would be a gain of more than 37 percent from the breakout level and take ETH/USD to its best levels since May 2022.
However, this bullish trend could be terminated if the aforementioned head and shoulders pattern is met. Because its technical price target is within the symmetrical triangle. If Ethereum falls back into the formation, another test of the lower support line, currently around $1,190, is likely.
A guidance decision can be expected by mid-December at the latest. A bearish price target could correct the Ethereum chart pattern to around $300. These would be prices that ETH last saw in July 2020, ahead of the 2021 bull market.




Cryptocurrency with potential: IMPT token in pre-sale
New buyers of cryptocurrencies who currently see another exciting investment opportunity should take a closer look at the IMPT project. Because it is dedicated to a major topic of our time, climate protection. In this way, IMPT buyers can trade with emission credits and thus contribute to CO2 neutrality through their investment.
Due to the high demand for IMPT tokens, the stock was already sold out early in the first phase of the pre-sale. Phase 2 of the presale is currently running at a preferred price of $0.023. This group could also sell out quickly.