PiCK
Ahead of the US FOMC decision… Trump pressures Powell: “When will you cut rates?”
Summary
- Markets said the probability of holding rates at this FOMC was 98.9%.
- President Donald Trump said he pressured Chair Jerome Powell over the timing of rate cuts.
- The WSJ reported that three Fed governors appointed by Trump are moving in the same direction, calling for rate cuts, at the FOMC.
Forecast Trend Report by Period
Ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) rate decision, President Donald Trump has stepped up pressure on Chair Jerome Powell.
On the 18th (local time), Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social, “When will ‘Too Late’ Powell cut interest rates?”
Earlier, the Fed on the 17th (local time) began its two-day Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. The Fed will announce the policy rate at 3 a.m. on the 19th Korea time.
Markets broadly expect rates to be held steady. According to CME FedWatch, the probability that the Fed will keep rates unchanged at this meeting was 98.9%.
Attention is also focused on whether divisions within the Fed may deepen. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported the previous day (17th) that three Fed governors appointed by Trump raised dissenting views multiple times at the FOMC. The WSJ said, “Even if there is no dissenting vote, an important change is that the ‘possibility of division’ is recurring at every meeting,” adding, “The key is not the vote margin but the fact that governors appointed by a president who is openly calling for rate cuts are moving in the same direction.”
JOON HYOUNG LEE
gilson@bloomingbit.ioCrypto Journalist based in Seoul
