Fed Officials Prepare for Upcoming Meeting

(Reuters) – U.S. Federal Reserve officials are heading into the quiet period before their Dec. 17-18 meeting. New jobs numbers are expected to show recovery from a weak October, suggesting a solid labor market.

Several policymakers, including Fed Governor Michelle Bowman, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly, and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, will give their final public remarks today. After a week that reinforced market expectations, the Fed is anticipated to cut rates by another quarter percentage point, bringing the range to 4.25% to 4.50%.

The Fed's internal rules prevent public comments on monetary policy starting Saturday before each two-day meeting. Previous comments from top officials pointed to Friday's November jobs numbers as critical for their decision.

Fed Governor Christopher Waller mentioned he is leaning towards a rate cut but will await the jobs and inflation data next week for a final decision. Fed Chair Jerome Powell stated inflation remains higher than anticipated and emphasized the need for caution in managing the Fed's ongoing efforts against inflation.

Despite recent inflation progress stalling, the economy has performed better than expected, likely to be confirmed by the upcoming jobs report. Analysts anticipate a rate cut in December but foresee a pause afterward. Powell’s comments did not challenge the market’s confidence that a December cut is likely, according to Evercore ISI Vice Chair Krishna Guha.