Federal Reserve voting members: Monetary policy is in the right place, no need for December rate cut.

On Saturday (November 22), Boston Federal Reserve Chair Susan Collins stated that she believes the Federal Reserve does not need to continue cutting interest rates in December. This statement further highlights the disagreement among decision-makers about future monetary policy actions. As one of the voting members of the Federal Reserve's policy-making committee this year, Collins, in an interview during an economic conference on Saturday, stated that the Federal Reserve has already implemented two 25-basis-point rate cuts since August, slightly leaning towards a policy stance to curb inflation. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted 10-2 at its October meeting to lower interest rates by 25 basis points, bringing the federal funds rate target range down to 3.75%-4.00%. Collins pointed out that given the continued inflation rate above the Fed's 2% target level, such a policy stance may still be appropriate, especially against the backdrop of strong financial market performance supporting economic resilience. "The overall financial conditions are now somewhat favorable, not unfavorable," Collins said. "In my opinion, in this environment, there is no urgent need for a more accommodative monetary policy." Collins stated that she has not yet decided how she will vote in December, nor has she determined whether she will vote against the decision if she disagrees. Since the interest rate meeting at the end of October, Collins has repeatedly called for caution in further rate cuts. Earlier this month, she stated that the conditions for further rate cuts are "relatively high." Collins also stated that the mixed September employment report has not substantially changed her view of the labor market. Data released on Thursday showed that the US added 119,000 jobs in September, a strong performance, but the unemployment rate rose by 0.1 percentage points to 4.4%. This report was supposed to be released in early October but was delayed until this week due to the US federal government shutdown for a month and a half. The upcoming interest rate meeting next month may be one of the most suspenseful in recent years. Before the October meeting, the market widely expected the Federal Reserve to cut rates by 25 basis points in October and December. However, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell stated at a press conference after the October meeting that a rate cut in December was far from certain. According to the minutes of the October meeting released on Wednesday, there is a significant disagreement among decision-makers about whether to continue cutting rates in December. Since the beginning of November, traders' bets on the December decision have reflected high uncertainty. Earlier this week, market bets on a rate cut in December were below 40%. However, after New York Federal Reserve Chair Williams gave a speech on Friday, bets once again shifted towards a higher probability of a rate cut in December. As the third person at the Federal Reserve, Williams stated that a rate cut "in the near future" may be reasonable, which has boosted investors' expectations for a rate cut in December.