Investors are eagerly anticipating the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting, due later on Wednesday. With the Fed deciding to implement a 50 basis point interest rate cut, investors will be interested to know just how split the central bank policymakers were in reaching their decision, particularly after the first dissent from a member of the Fed’s Board of Governors for the past 19 years.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell insisted during a press conference that there was “broad support” for a half-point cut. While Governor Michelle Bowman disagreed on the size of the cut, she nonetheless agreed that the time had come to ease the Fed’s monetary policy, albeit to a smaller extent as a means of hedging against inflation risks.
According to analysts from Citi, the latest minutes “may shed some light on the bar for officials to move policy rates lower at a faster rate.” Investors are broadly expecting the Fed to cut its interest rates by another quarter of a point at its next policy meeting, scheduled for 6 and 7 November, as well as in December.