Wall Street reacted Thursday to this week's Fed meeting, with predictions spanning a range of outcomes for the direction of monetary policy. Most economists at the largest forecasting firms expect the central bank to cut rates sometime later this year. But the outlook ranged from one to four rate cuts, with most saying only time will tell how far the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee can take its foot off the brakes. “The May FOMC meeting was largely uneventful, but generally subdued,” Goldman Sachs economist David Mericle said in a client note that underscored the uncertainty following this week's meeting. “While the committee added an aggressive acknowledgment of the 'lack of further progress' on inflation so far this year to its statement, Chairman Powell delivered a soothing message at his news conference.” The result of the conflicting signals? Goldman left in place its call for two rate cuts this year of a quarter of a percentage point each, one in July and the other in November. However, the company noted that “even moderate upside surprises” on the inflation front could thwart that outlook and “further delay the cuts.” Indeed, there was considerable uncertainty on the street about the size and timing of the cuts. Futures market traders on Thursday continued to price in the likelihood of just one cut this year and even a roughly 15% chance of an increase, according to data from CME Group. Here's a quick look at where the big companies are: Citigroup is an outlier in the number of cuts it sees coming, though its reasoning for simpler policies going forward isn't that different from other companies. Essentially, most economists believe the Fed is right to say that inflation rates will continue to ease throughout the year and move the central bank closer to its 2% annual target. The question is how much convincing cautious policymakers will need and how quickly they are willing to take steps without showing doubts about their commitment to stable prices. “Powell's comments were consistent with our view that the Fed will move to lower interest rates once core inflation rates weaken or labor market data weaken,” Citigroup economist Andrew Hollenhorst wrote. Lower inflation rates combined with a “sharper deterioration” in the employment outlook will lead the Fed to start cutting in July and continue until it cuts its Fed Funds benchmark by a full percentage point by the end of the year, he added to it. At Morgan Stanley, Ellen Zentner, the firm's chief U.S. economist, was almost as confident that interest rates would start in July, although inflation trends so far in 2024 have “narrowed the path to that point.” “Despite the lack of further progress on slack this year (in terms of both inflation and the labor market), the commission has made meaningful progress toward its 2% target over the past year,” she wrote. “We continue to see inflation lower, unemployment higher and three cuts this year.” In terms of more consensus, Barclays thinks rates will be cut in September 'at the earliest', while prospects are very bright that the Fed will take a harder line if first-quarter inflation data is a harbinger of things to come. Marc Giannoni, chief U.S. economist at Barclays, noted that while Powell indicated a rate hike was unlikely to be on the cards, Powell also did not repeat his recently stated expectation that rates would be cut sometime this year. “If inflation turns out to be stronger than in our base case, we expect the first rate cut to be postponed until December,” he wrote. “We see this as almost as likely as our base case. We continue to expect four rate cuts by 2025.” And Bank of America said the Fed will likely remain on hold as it waits for more convincing evidence on inflation. “The Fed has shifted to a wait-and-see approach and is prepared to keep its policy rate at its current level for as long as necessary,” said BofA economist Michael Gapen. 'More time needed means later cuts.' – DailyExpertNews's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.