English
Fed Minutes: Half of Fed Officials Expect Two More Rate Cuts in 2025
The minutes of the Federal Reserve's last meeting, released on Wednesday, October 8, showed that Fed officials were strongly inclined to cut interest rates in September, with the only disagreement apparently surrounding the number of cuts.
The summary of last month's meeting indicated near-unanimity among Federal Open Market Committee participants on the need to lower the Fed's key interest rate due to the weak labor market.
However, committee participants were divided on whether two or three total rate cuts should be made this year, including the quarter-point reduction approved at the September 16-17 meeting.
The minutes stated that "in considering the outlook for monetary policy, nearly all participants indicated that, with the reduction in the target range for the federal funds rate at this meeting, the Committee is well positioned to respond in a timely manner to potential economic developments."
The minutes added: "Participants expressed a range of views on the current tightening of monetary policy and its likely future path. Most believed it would be appropriate to ease monetary policy further over the remainder of this year."
The forecast materials released during the meeting revealed a sharp divide among the 19 officials participating in the FOMC meetings, 12 of whom have voting rights.
The "dot plot" of members' forecasts showed a 10-9 split, meaning a slim majority expected two additional rate cuts before the end of the year.
While the full committee voted 11-1 to cut the benchmark interest rate by a quarter-point, participants differed on the seriousness of further cuts over the remainder of 2025 and the next few years.
The latest cut lowered the federal funds rate to a range of 4% to 4.25%.
