Volatility likely to persist in commodities; central bank comments, economic data, China in focus

The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting was the key event of the week, however, the mixed reaction to the outcome across asset classes showed that the market players were still uncertain. As expected, the US central bank left interest rate and bond purchases unchanged. The Fed also indicated that bond tapering may happen soon but gave no clear timeline and tied it with sustained economic recovery. Its economic projections show that more Fed officials favour a rate hike as early as the next year. The projections, however, also indicated that the economic growth this year will be slower than previously…