【链文】The Federal Reserve has cut interest rates again, but this time it's different.
On the evening of December 10, the Fed cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points, from the 4% range to 3.5%-3.75%. Including this cut, they have now lowered rates three times in a row, with a total reduction of 75 basis points. Normally, this would be good news, but the internal committee was in an uproar—three members voted against the decision! This is the first time such a scene has occurred since September 2019.
Board member Milan voted against the grain for the third consecutive time (his term will end in January next year), and Schmidt also dissented for the second time. Such significant disagreements indicate that the decision-making body does not have a unified view on the economic outlook.
The statement mentioned that the economy is still expanding moderately, but the labor market has clearly cooled down—job creation has slowed this year, and the unemployment rate has been rising since before September. Recent data also confirms this trend.
More importantly, the "dot plot" signals that there may be only one rate cut in 2026 and another in 2027.