The Fed maintained projections for roughly four hikes in 2016
The hike was no surprise but if the Fed really wanted to underscore a 'dovish hike', officials could have scaled back forecasts for hikes next year in the dot plot.
The central tendency remains 1.4% (or 1.375%, more accurately). It would have been easy for officials to skew this lower and send a signal about patience. Instead, they are signalling (albeit softly) a rate hike each quarter.
The dollar is higher after the decision. However, I highly caution against trading on fundamental skews, especially ahead of Yellen.
I believe fast money was piling into US dollar longs yesterday and will be taking profits today. Flows and positioning are far more important than fundamentals here.
