What's expected from the Fed's interest rate decision Wednesday

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The Federal Reserve is set to announce the latest interest rate decision on Wednesday.

Phil Powell, Clinical Professor of Business Economics at IU’s Kelley School of Business, says futures markets indicate the Fed will hold rates steady in its next decision.

He says before the peace deal between Washington and Tehran, financial markets were fearful of more inflation, with inflation numbers over four percent due to a spike in oil prices.

“It's going to actually be more inclined to increase rates in the next few months than decrease rates, but the Iranian peace deal is a huge piece of good news. It could lead to a faster than expected fall in oil prices, which reduces any chance of rates going up in the short term,” said Powell.

This is the first decision with President Trump’s nominee, Kevin Warsh, as Fed chair He started his four-year term last month.

“There's a lot of talk that the new Fed chair is more willing to cut rates than his predecessor, and that's just not showing to be true. Again, the Federal Reserve makes their decisions based upon very technical data and technical decision-making. It's not an emotional decision,” said Powell.

He says the current Fed chair is just as disciplined as his predecessor.

As far as rates coming down, Powell says lower interest rates likely wouldn't be a possibility until the end of this year because inflation needs to come down first.