MNI ASIA OPEN: Chair Powell Tamps Down on Pace of Rate Cuts

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• MNI BRIEF: Powell Says Fed Not In Hurry To Ease Quickly
• MNI BRIEF: Fed's Goolsbee Sees A Lot Of Cuts Over Next Year
• MNI FED: Bostic – Don’t Want To Be Overly Confident On Inflation Path
• US DATA: Chicago Business Barometer™ - Augmented to 46.6 in September

US
MNI BRIEF: Powell Says Fed Not In Hurry To Ease Quickly
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Monday a strong economy means the central bank does not have to rush in reducing interest rates. “This is not a committee that feels like it’s in a hurry to cut rate quickly,” Powell said during a Q&A hosted by the National Association of Business Economics. “From a base case standpoint, we’re looking at it as a process that will play out over some time, not something that we need to go fast on. "If the economy performs as expected, that would mean two more cuts this year – 50 more (basis points),” he said.

MNI BRIEF: Fed's Goolsbee Sees A Lot Of Cuts Over Next Year
U.S. interest rates are "well above" where they need to be over the medium term and are set to fall significantly over the next year or more, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee said Monday. "If you look at the new inflation numbers, they're coming in relatively pretty close to target. And if you look at the unemployment rate and the job market, we got back to a steady state kind of a sustainable level that's close to what we think of as full employment," he said in a Fox Business interview, also citing "cautionary indicators" on the health of the labor market. 

FED: Bostic – Don’t Want To Be Overly Confident On Inflation Path
Bloomberg has run headlines from an interview that Atlanta Fed’s Bostic (’24 voter) gave to Reuters noting that he’s open to a 50bp cut rate if labor data is weak although broader comments appear more in keeping with his comments last week that the Fed isn't in a "mad dash" to neutral. "If the story is that inflation is continuing its drop and the labor market is staying strong, I think we have the luxury of being a bit more patient" with rate cuts. "If, on the other hand, the labor market comes in much weaker, I think that would add urgency to this."