Multiple Federal Reserve officials spoke intensively on January 15, suggesting that due to lingering inflationary pressures and a stable labor market, they are willing to keep interest rates unchanged at the policy meeting on January 27-28, completely dashing market expectations of a rate cut this month. Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee emphasized the need to firmly bring inflation down to the 2% target, temporarily setting aside concerns about the labor market; Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid reaffirmed his opposition to further rate cuts, believing that policy should maintain moderate tightness to curb inflation.

Market data shows that investor expectations implied by futures contracts indicate a low probability of a Fed rate cut before June, and there may be only one 25-basis-point rate cut throughout the year. Meanwhile, the White House revealed that Trump will confirm the nominee for Fed Chairman in the coming weeks, a news that has aroused close market attention to the direction of subsequent monetary policy. Richmond Fed President noted that constrained consumer purchasing power limits enterprises’ pricing power, and current economic growth mainly relies on the artificial intelligence ecosystem and affluent consumer groups, adding complexity to policy-making.