financetom
Economy
financetom
/
Economy
/
Fed's Daly says this week's rate cut was 'close call'
News World Market Environment Technology Personal Finance Politics Retail Business Economy Cryptocurrency Forex Stocks Market Commodities
Fed's Daly says this week's rate cut was 'close call'
Dec 20, 2024 6:10 AM

(Reuters) - San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly on Friday said the decision by the U.S. central bank to lower interest rates on Wednesday by another quarter percentage point was a "close call," adding she agreed with Chair Jerome Powell that caution is now warranted toward further policy adjustments.

"The most important thing to me was we needed to recalibrate policy. I saw this as a close call," Daly said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. "Now I feel we have the recalibration phase behind us, and we're in the next phase, and that next phase is really looking at the incoming information."

Daly's remarks were the first by a U.S. central banker since the Fed on Wednesday cut its policy rate to a range of 4.25% to 4.50%, with officials updating projections showing most see fewer cuts in 2025 than they had projected previously.

The new median estimate for the appropriate level of the Fed funds rate by the end of next year was 3.9% - or a range of 3.75% to 4.0% - up from an earlier projection of 3.4% - or a range of 3.25% to 3.50%.

Daly said she was comfortable with that more moderate path of easing shown in the summary of economic projections.

"I was very comfortable with that median," she said. That makes sense to me, but we have to remain agile."

Following Powell's press conference on Wednesday - and his repeated references to taking a "cautious" approach from here - rate futures markets have repositioned and now show doubt within the market about whether the Fed will deliver the two quarter percentage point cuts in 2025.

"We might end up with fewer cuts than two," Daly said. "We might have to respond and end up with more if inflation falls faster or you see a significant weakening in the labor market. And I'm comfortable sitting in that center court position and waiting for the data to come in, and we'll actually respond as they do."

(Reporting By Dan Burns; Editing by Ros Russell)

Comments
Welcome to financetom comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Related Articles >
Fed Chair Powell says pandemic has had lasting effects on economy
Fed Chair Powell says pandemic has had lasting effects on economy
Mar 22, 2024
(Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday opened a Fed Listens event on how Americans are experiencing the economy, saying the pandemic has had lasting effects and that to make good policy the U.S. central bank cannot rely only on macroeconomic data but needs to hear directly from people and businesses. He did not make any remarks about the...
US Dollar Improves Early Friday Ahead of Fed Appearances, State Unemployment
US Dollar Improves Early Friday Ahead of Fed Appearances, State Unemployment
Mar 22, 2024
07:38 AM EDT, 03/22/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The US dollar rose against its major trading partners early Friday, except for a decline versus the yen, ahead of a series of appearances by Federal Reserve officials that compensate for a lack of major US data. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is scheduled to make opening remarks at a Fed Listens conference at...
US Congress scrambles to pass $1.2 trillion spending bill, midnight deadline looms
US Congress scrambles to pass $1.2 trillion spending bill, midnight deadline looms
Mar 22, 2024
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives and Democratic-majority Senate on Friday will scramble to beat a midnight government shutdown deadline by passing a $1.2 trillion bill keeping the government funded through September. If they succeed, it will end a more-than-six-month battle over the scope of Washington's spending for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1. If they...
U.S. companies' stock purchases via buybacks, M&A to hit 6-year high in 2024, Goldman says
U.S. companies' stock purchases via buybacks, M&A to hit 6-year high in 2024, Goldman says
Mar 22, 2024
(Reuters) - U.S. companies' purchases of domestic equities through more stock buybacks and corporate acquisitions will hit a six-year high of $625 billion this year, about as much as mutual funds and pension houses will offload, Goldman Sachs said. A surge in share buybacks and continued growth in cash mergers and acquisitions (M&A) will be the primary drivers of corporate...
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.financetom.com All Rights Reserved