Fed September minutes may show whether 50 bps rate cut was a slam dunk or a hard sell
Minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's half-a-percentage-point rate cut last month, to be released on Wednesday, may provide a final word on just how divided policymakers were over a decision that took many economists by surprise and sparked the first dissent from a member of the Board of Governors in 19 years. Fed chair Jerome Powell in his post-meeting press conference said there was "broad support" for the half-point cut, with even dissenting Governor Michelle Bowman agreeing it was time to ease monetary policy but preferring to start with a smaller quarter-point reduction as a hedge against inflation risks she is not convinced have been fully tamed. Yet Powell also acknowledged a "good diversity of excellent discussion" about the decision, while projections issued by Fed policymakers about what would happen over just the next three months were unusually dispersed.