It’s Reasonable to Consider Rate Cut Next Month, Fed’s Kashkari Says

(Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said it is still appropriate to consider another interest-rate cut at the central bank’s December meeting.

“It’s still a reasonable consideration,” Kashkari said Monday on Bloomberg Television in response to a question about whether policymakers should reduce borrowing costs by a quarter point at their last meeting of the year. “Right now, knowing what I know today, still considering a 25-basis-point cut in December — it’s a reasonable debate for us to have.”

Kashkari said the economy’s resilience in the face of higher interest rates suggests that the neutral rate, where policy neither weighs on nor stimulates growth, may be higher now. That raises questions about how much monetary policy is helping to cool demand in the economy, he said. The longer that resiliency continues, the more he thinks that shift might be structural and not merely temporary.

“This is what I’m trying to understand right now, is how much downward pressure are we putting on the economy, and what is the path for inflation,” Kashkari said.

Policymakers have lowered interest rates by three quarters of a percentage point in recent months, including a larger-than-usual half-point cut in September. They meet again Dec. 17-18. Some officials have signaled support for a more gradual pace of rate reductions going forward.

Fed officials will receive more data, both on inflation and the labor market, before their December meeting. The latest update on the Fed’s preferred price gauges will be released Wednesday. Progress on inflation, which has been inching closer to the central bank’s 2% target, has slowed in recent months.

“I have some confidence that it’s gently trending down, and right now the labor market remains strong,” Kashkari said. 

Kashkari said that while one-off tariffs would likely lead to a one-time price hike, a situation where there is retaliation by foreign countries could drive up prices. 

--With assistance from Haslinda Amin.

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