PANews reported on March 13 that, according to a Bloomberg survey, economists have postponed their expectations for the next Federal Reserve rate cut from March to June, but still anticipate two 25-basis-point cuts before the end of the year. The 46 economists surveyed expect a faster pace of rate cuts than currently priced into by the futures market, and one more cut than the median forecast by Fed officials in December. Nearly one-third of the surveyed economists expressed concern about Kevin Warsh, Trump's nominee for Fed chairman. When asked if they believed Warsh would commit to achieving the Fed's 2% inflation target, 13% were unsure, and 18% answered "no." In the December survey, economists expected rate cuts in March and September, while in the survey conducted from March 6-11 (after the outbreak of the Middle East conflict), respondents expected cuts in June and October. The median forecast shows that economists expect interest rates to be between 3% and 3.25% by the end of the year.