Fed's Bowman expects two more interest rate cuts this year

(Reuters) -Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman on Tuesday said she continues to anticipate that the U.S. central bank will deliver interest rate cuts at its final two policy meetings of 2025. “I continue to see two more cuts before the end of this year,” Bowman said at an event in Washington.  The Fed last month cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to the 4.00%-4.25% range, its first reduction in borrowing costs since last December. Projections released alongside its recent policy decision showed a slight majority of policymakers see more rate cuts this year as appropriate in the face of softening in the job market. The U.S. central bank will hold its next policy meeting on October 28-29, with its final session of the year slated for the second week of December. Rate futures markets positioning reflects expectations for quarter-percentage-point reductions at both meetings. “I think as long as we see the labor market and other economic data evolving in the way that I expect, then we will continue to be on a path for lowering the federal funds rate,” Bowman said. Bowman supported last month's rate cut after dissenting at the previous meeting in July in favor of initiating rate reductions at that time. She was joined in that dissent by Fed Governor Christopher Waller, who, like Bowman, was appointed to the U.S. central bank's Board of Governors by President Donald Trump during his first term in the White House. Both Bowman and Waller have said they believe the tariffs Trump has launched since returning to power will not lead to persistent inflation and that the balance of risks is tilted toward the job market. (Reporting by Jamie McGeever in Washington; writing by Dan Burns; editing by Paul Simao)

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