Market Focus: How the Federal Reserve's Meeting Minutes Will Reveal the Direction of Interest Rates

BlockBeats news, November 16, the Financial Times analysis pointed out that the Federal Reserve's policy meeting minutes from October will be released at 2 AM Beijing time next Thursday. At this moment, investors are increasingly uncertain about the path of U.S. interest rates. Last month, the Federal Reserve lowered the benchmark interest rate to a range of 3.75%-4%, but the hopes of investors for Chairman Powell to signal another rate cut in December were dashed. Before the October meeting, the market had fully priced in a 25 basis point rate cut in December, but Powell's statement that "further rate cuts by the end of the year are not a given" quickly reshaped market expectations.

Boston Fed President Collins questioned the possible rate cut next month this week, emphasizing that "the threshold for implementing additional easing in the near term is relatively high." Data gaps will become a major obstacle for Federal Reserve decision-making. The 43-day U.S. government shutdown ended this week, during which key labor market and inflation data were all halted, making it difficult for investors to assess the true health of the world's largest economy. Morgan Stanley analysts pointed out in a client report that the data gaps and delayed release of employment market indicators mean that "the Federal Reserve will face a dilemma of incomplete information when making decisions at the December meeting."