Fed/Kashkari: Fed will cut interest rates by at most 2 this year

Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari has signaled that stronger economic data since the beginning of the year could make it appropriate for the Fed to cut interest rates as many as twice this year, or possibly just once. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari on Wednesday signaled that stronger economic data since the beginning of the year could make it appropriate for the Fed to cut interest rates as many as twice this year, or probably just once. “I was at two points in December,” Kashkari told WSJ Live, referring to the number of quarter-point rate cuts that Fed policymakers outlined in their latest quarterly economic forecast. The new projections suggest that the FOMC will release new projections after its March 19-20 meeting. “It’s hard to say that I’m going to cut more than I did in December, given the data that’s coming in,” Kashkari said. “In a base case, it looks like I’ll be right where I was in December, or potentially one less, but I haven’t decided,” he said. The median forecast among his colleagues in December was for three rate cuts this year, which would raise the Fed’s policy rate to a range of 4.5% to 4.75% from the current range of 5.25% to 5.5%.