FOMC

"We think we are going to need to do further rate increases," Powell said Tuesday.

"We need to raise rates aggressively to put a ceiling on inflation, then let monetary policy work its way through the economy," Kashkari said.

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said January's strong jobs report raises the possibility that the central bank will need to increase interest rates to a higher peak than policymakers had previously expected.

"Investors are acknowledging that the Fed is nearing the end of its rate tightening cycle which is supporting a relief rally in stocks and lower bond yields, said Bryce Doty, senior vice president at Sit Investment Associates.

Analysts opine on the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, how high interest rates will go and when the first cut may happen.

Kansas City Fed President Esther George said officials don't want to raise interest rates by so much that policy becomes overly restrictive and the economy can avoid a sharp downturn.

Bullard says Fed rates need to stay on tighter side in 2023

"I expect that we will raise rates a few more times this year, though, to my mind, the days of us raising them 75 basis points at a time have surely passed," Harker said.

Downshifting to a smaller move from the more aggressive rate increases the Fed rolled out last year would give officials more time to see how their actions are affecting the economy, Collins said.

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Esther George said the U.S. central bank should raise its benchmark interest rate above 5% and hold it there well into 2024 to bring inflation down.

"It will be appropriate to continue to raise rates at least at the next few meetings until we are confident inflation has peaked," Kashkari said.

Some analysts see the Federal Reserve cutting rates in late 2023, but others expect no rate cuts before 2024.

It is not clear whether FOMC members truly believe their higher inflation and interest rate forecasts, or if they are being overly hawkish to prevent further market exuberance.

Many believe the Federal Reserve will slow down rate increases beginning in December.. Steve Friedman, senior macroeconomist at MacKay Shields, will join us the day after the meeting to discuss what was done and what he expects in the future.

"This week will likely have been the last active week of the year, but it turned out to be quite eventful," according to Barclays PLC.

Outflows returned as Refinitiv Lipper reported $1.217 billion was pulled out of municipal bond mutual funds for the week ending Wednesday after $46.912 million of inflows the week prior.

The Fed chairman said he believes the Fed is getting close to a sufficiently restrictive level, but they're not quite there. While two good inflation reports are good, "there's still a long way to go to price stability."

The CPI report showed inflation had slowed to 7.1%, giving investors confidence the Federal Open Market Committee will hike rates 50 basis points as expected following Wednesday's much-anticipated meeting.

The December Federal Open Market Committee meeting, combined with the release of inflation data, "will test the good cheer currently prevailing in the bond market," said MSCI Research strategists Andy Sparks, Tamas Hanis and Edina Szirma.

Investors will be greeted Monday with a new-issue calendar estimated at $3.214 billion, the majority of which is a nearly $1.9 billion private activity P3 bond deal from Pennsylvania.