Fed Chair Powell says FOMC is divided on additional rate cuts in 2025

Powell said the Federal Open Market Committee is weighing interest rates on a meeting-by-meeting basis, with no long-term consensus.

US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the 19 members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) remain divided on additional interest rate cuts in 2025.

At Wednesday’s press conference after the Fed’s 25-basis-point rate cut, Powell said the central bank is trying to balance its dual mandate of maximum employment and price stability in an unusual environment where the labor market is weakening even as inflation remains elevated. Powell said:

Powell said that the “median” FOMC projection from the Federal Reserve’s Summary of Economic Projections (SEP), the Fed’s quarterly outlook for the US economy that informs interest rate decisions, projected interest rates at 3.6% at the end of 2025, 3.4% by the end of 2026, and 3.1% at the end of 2027.

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