Updated
Updated · CNBC · Aug 28
Fed September 25-Basis-Point Hike Odds Jump Near 50% After Warsh Speech
Updated
Updated · CNBC · Aug 28

Fed September 25-Basis-Point Hike Odds Jump Near 50% After Warsh Speech

3 articles · Updated · CNBC · Aug 28

Summary

  • Kalshi traders lifted the chance of a September Fed rate increase to 48% after Kevin Warsh said policymakers must keep fighting inflation, reversing a market view that had favored no move.
  • Fed funds futures priced a nearly 56% chance of a quarter-point hike and Polymarket showed 49%, after Warsh argued better summer inflation readings still did not prove underlying trends had improved enough.
  • The shift followed a month of fading hike expectations after July job losses and cooler inflation data, even though inflation remained above the Fed's 2% target.
  • Two-year Treasury yields climbed to their highest since late July as investors repriced the Sept. 16 decision, with Warsh's Jackson Hole remarks reviving the hawkish case.

Insights

With job losses mounting, could the Fed's obsession with a 2% inflation target trigger a severe economic downturn this September?
As structural forces like AI keep inflation sticky, is the Federal Reserve's traditional rate-hike playbook finally becoming obsolete?