The statements of three top officials from The Fed indicate a strong commitment to maintaining the current interest rates.

Traders and investors continue to monitor the speeches of top Fed officials throughout the week. Global market sentiment remains fragile amid the intense Israel-Palestine conflict. Various factors supported the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) in consolidating in the mid-106.50s range towards the end of the New York trading session on Wednesday, October 18th.

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The statements of three top officials from The Fed indicate a strong commitment to maintaining the current interest rates in the range of 5.25% to 5.50%. However, there are no signals for further increases.

The President of The Fed Richmond, Tom Barkin, stated that the central bank has time to monitor whether the interest rate increases effectively control inflation to the 2 percent target. The President of The Fed Philadelphia, Patrick Harker, argued that the central bank needs to postpone interest rate hikes to prevent an economic slowdown due to excessively high-interest rates.

Barkin noted at a real estate forum in Washington, D.C., that they had seen progress in efforts to reach the inflation target. He mentioned that they hadn't achieved it yet but were moving in the right direction. He also pointed out that there was time to assess whether they had implemented enough interest rate hikes or if more work was needed.

President of The Fed Minneapolis, Neel Kashkari, expressed that current U.S. inflation is "still too high." However, this hawkish figure didn't discuss interest rates or macroeconomic issues further in his speech at the University of Minnesota.

Fed Funds Futures indicate the likelihood of further Fed interest rate hikes this year remains around 40%. Most traders believe the Fed will hold off on raising rates again.

Market participants are now awaiting a speech from Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Powell's upcoming statement will likely be the final guidance from top Fed officials since the blackout period will begin on October 21st and continue until the next FOMC meeting on October 31st - November 1st.