Survey: The Federal Reserve is not expected to comply with calls for a major interest rate cut, nor is it likely to cut interest rates urgently
Most economists polled expect the Fed to cut rates by just 25 basis points in September, bucking calls from some of Wall Street's biggest banks for a big cut. Nearly four-fifths of economists polled by foreign media predict the Fed will cut rates by 25 basis points at the September meeting, with most of the rest forecasting a bigger cut. The median estimate puts the likelihood of an emergency rate change before the September meeting at just 10%. Some major Wall Street banks, including JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup, now predict the Fed will raise rates by 50 basis points next month following last week's weaker-than-expected jobs report. Futures investors believe the Fed will cut rates by 100 basis points before the end of the year and 50 basis points next month. However, the consensus among economists is that the Fed will adjust by 25 basis points each at its September, November and December meetings and in the first quarter of next year.