TechFlow, August 21 — According to Jinshi Data, Nick Timiraos, known as the "Fed whisperer," wrote in a recent article that today's released policy meeting minutes show the Federal Reserve's decision last month to hold interest rates steady was widely supported, despite two officials dissenting and advocating for rate cuts.
However, a small number of officials have aligned with Waller and Bowman, suggesting they might support a rate cut at the Fed's next meeting on September 16–17. They noted that the pass-through of tariff increases to consumer prices has been slower than expected, which should ease concerns about rising import costs triggering a new inflationary shock. Yet inflation-focused "hawks" pointed out that price pressures, including in services, have intensified since the previous meeting.
Kansas City Federal Reserve President Schmid stated last week in a speech that tariffs' impact on inflation has been limited, partly because the Fed has maintained stable interest rates. Unlike Bowman, who has consistently calculated inflation excluding tariff effects, Schmid pledged never to conduct such calculations, calling it "a concept that is both meaningless and immeasurable."
