The Federal Reserve has announced an increase to short-term interest rates, but what does the move mean for Utahns?
The Federal Reserve is increasing the federal funds rate by a quarter of one percent. It’s the first increase to the rate since 2006 and marks the end of the era of super-cheap loans. Robert Spendlove is the chief economist at Zions Bank. He says Utah’s economy will be more resilient to any impacts from the increase, because it’s already so strong.
“It will slow it a little bit, but there’s no risk of, for instance, the Utah economy falling into recession.”
As for Utah consumers, Spendlove says they’re not likely to notice the change.
“It won’t be, you know, a huge impact, but you’ll see a little bit higher cost of your credit card or of your revolving credit.”
And Spendlove says it will have little or no impact on long-term loans, such as home mortgages. He also says the rate increase is a sign that the federal reserve thinks the economy is headed in the right direction.