Minneapolis Fed President: "Further modest rate cuts" are appropriate for the benchmark interest rate
Minneapolis Fed President Kashkari said that a "further modest reduction" in the central bank's benchmark interest rate over the next few quarters seems appropriate. He mentioned that the policy direction will be determined by economic, inflation, and labor market data. Despite higher-than-expected core inflation rates in September and a slight decrease in the unemployment rate, investors' expectations for a significant rate cut by the Fed at the November meeting have weakened. Kashkari believes that the current policy stance is restrictive, but the extent of the restriction is not yet clear
According to the Wise Finance APP, on Monday, Neel Kashkari, President of the Minneapolis Fed, indicated that a "further slight reduction" in the central bank's benchmark interest rate over the next few quarters seems appropriate.
Kashkari stated at a meeting held in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Monday: "Ultimately, the direction of policy will be determined by actual economic, inflation, and labor market data. The core inflation rate in September was higher than expected, while the latest data on the U.S. labor market shows a decrease in the unemployment rate with stable hiring."
These data have led investors to withdraw bets, believing that the Fed will not make another significant 50 basis point rate cut at the upcoming meeting in November, as policymakers did in September. Kashkari described the Fed's current policy stance as restrictive, but he noted that the extent of the restriction "remains unclear."
Kashkari mentioned that the labor market remains strong, with recent employment reports being "encouraging, and signs of rapid labor softening do not appear imminent." He added that the inflation rate "has fallen significantly from its peak but remains slightly above our target." Kashkari had previously expressed satisfaction with the Fed's rate cut in September and believed that a 25 basis point cut at each of the remaining two meetings this year was a "reasonable starting point." According to median estimates released last month, Fed policymakers expect the central bank to cut rates by another 50 basis points in the remaining time of 2024.
On Monday, the U.S. dollar continued its upward trend from last week, as the market expects the Fed to maintain a gradual pace of rate cuts, which broadly supported the dollar. The Intercontinental Exchange DXY Dollar Index rose by 0.3%, erasing about two months of declines. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index increased by 0.4%, returning to levels seen in August. The dollar rose by 0.5% against the Japanese yen and by 0.3% against the euro