#Fed Officials Turn More Hawkish#

The increase in "hawkish" members in the Federal Reserve's 2025 rotating voting committee could lead to more disagreements in the policymaking process. Bloomberg believes that the dispersion of voting member positions will reduce neutral situations and exacerbate disagreements. Barron's Weekly argues that the rotation of voting members could make the Fed more inclined towards a "hawkish" stance in its 2025 decisions. Reuters also points out that disagreements among Fed policymakers could re-emerge over time, especially if the labor market cools faster than inflation. Nevertheless, the increase in hawkish voting members on the Federal Open Market Committee may not change the policy outcome. The Fed will hold eight meetings in 2025, in January, March, May, June, July, September, October, and December. The dot plot released by the Fed in December 2024 shows that the Fed has lowered the number of future rate cuts, reducing the number of rate cuts in 2025 from four predicted in September to two, and raising the median interest rate forecast from 3.4% in September to 3.9%.