Federal Reserve Showdown: Will Interest Rates Soar or Stall Amid Global Economic Uncertainty

Federal Reserve Expected to Cut Interest Rates for the First Time Since 2020

The U.S. Federal Reserve kicks off its two-day monetary policy meeting today as inflation continues to pick up, with markets expecting interest rates to be cut at the meeting.

The Federal Reserve issued a statement saying that the meeting will be held at 10:30 a.m. Eastern time (10:30 a.m. Taipei time) and an interest rate announcement is scheduled for 2 a.m. Eastern time on the 18th (19th).

It is widely expected that policymakers will discuss a significant reduction in the benchmark interest rate of 1 percentage point (0.25 percentage point) or 2 percentage points.

Agence France-Presse reported that U.S. inflation continues to slow and is close to the long-term target set by the Federal Reserve, and the labor market continues to cool but remains resilient, all of which allowed the Federal Reserve to make decisions at its meeting calmly.

The Federal Reserve has kept its benchmark interest rate at a 20-year high since July last year, raising funding costs for consumers and businesses, but US economic growth remains in an expansionary pattern.

The data raised hopes that the Fed could achieve the rare feat of bringing inflation back to target without triggering a recession, a so-called “soft landing.”

Diane Swank, chief economist at KPMG, noted that while 2-digit interest rates could lead to further cuts, it could spur a recovery in inflation, so she believes Fed policymakers are unlikely to support this approach.