While Federal Reserve policymakers voted on Wednesday to keep rates at near zero, they also pulled forward their expectations for rate hikes, suggesting a mix of optimism about the pace of economic recovery and fear that easy money policies would fan the flames of inflation. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) on Wednesday released updated economic projections (pdf), including the so-called “dot plot” that charts the 18 FOMC members’ expectations for where rates will be in the future. While relatively little changed in interest rate hike expectations for 2022, FOMC members raised their assessment significantly for the target federal funds rate for 2023 in the September dot plot compared to one issued in June (pdf). While five members in June thought rates should remain in the zero-to-0.25 percent range in 2023, that number dropped to just one in September. By the end of 2023, the updated September median dot anticipates …