Agency: The latest economic projections will reflect how Fed officials perceive the impact of Trump's policies

On March 17, the Federal Reserve’s latest economic projections, released this week, will provide the most tangible evidence yet of how Fed officials view the possible impact of the Trump administration’s policies. Top forecasters have lowered their forecasts for economic growth this year, raising the expected risk of a recession and expecting inflation to rise as Trump’s new tariffs on imports affect global markets. Starting with what some policymakers call the “sweet spot” of steady growth and risk balancing, a more difficult situation suddenly emerges as uncertainty increases in forecasts and the stock market plummets. Beth Ann Bovino, chief economist at Bank of America, said a “soft landing” was still possible as the economy continued to grow and inflation fell to the Fed’s 2% target. However, we are starting to see some shocks as well as the possibility of a trade war, with consumer expectations showing recession and inflation fears. The situation is not yet ugly, but the shock has begun to accumulate.