The Minutes of July FOMC meeting showed that most members viewed the -25bps rate cut as “mid-cycle adjustment”, in response to the evolution of the economic outlook. That was in-line with Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s post meeting message that it’s not the start of a lengthy easing cycle. For any future adjustments, FOMC would “assess realized and expected economic conditions”, taking into account a wide range of information, including labor market, inflation, financial and international developments.
For those who voted for the cut, they sought to be “better position” the policy to counter effects from weak global growth and trade policy uncertainty, “insure” from downside risks and “promote” faster return of inflation to target. For the two dissenters, they noted larger positive economic data and anticipated “continued strong labor markets and solid growth in activity”.
