Fed’s Michelle Bowman Calls for September Rate Cut, Favors Three Cuts This Year

Fed Governor Michelle Bowman is pushing for a September rate cut, with the U.S. labor market softening. A Fed rate cut is significant, considering the positive impact it could have on the crypto market. Recent data shows that there is a high probability that the FOMC will lower rates at the September meeting.

Michelle Bowman Calls On FOMC To Make September Fed Rate Cut

According to a Bloomberg report, the Fed Governor urged her fellow FOMC colleagues to begin lowering rates at the September meeting holding between 16 and 17. She claimed that this move would help avoid further erosion in the labor market conditions. Bowman added that this move will ensure that they do not need to make larger cuts if the labor market worsens.

As CoinGape reported, the July U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose to 73,000, way below expectations. May and June figures were also revised downwards, which further raised concerns that the labor market is softening. Since then, the odds of a September Fed rate cut have surged, reaching as high as 94%.

CME FedWatch data shows that the odds currently stand at 88.9%, indicating that the FOMC is likely to cut rates. This is bullish for the crypto market, considering how rate cuts inject more liquidity into the market and boost risk-on sentiment.

Meanwhile, it is worth mentioning that Michelle Bowman and fellow Fed Governor Chris Waller were the only ones who voted in favor of a 25-basis-point (bps) Fed rate cut at the July FOMC meeting. Now, other FOMC members seem to be leaning towards a rate cut.

Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said that the time may be near to begin lowering rates. San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly had also expressed a similar sentiment recently.

Bowman Favors Three Cuts This Year

The Fed Governor also said that she favors three Fed rate cuts this year, meaning that she could vote for a cut at the remaining three meetings this year, in September, October, and December. She remarked that the weak labor market data support her view of multiple rate cuts. Daly also stated that three cuts may be necessary.

Meanwhile, Bowman downplayed concerns about the Trump tariffs’ impact on inflation. The Fed Governor reiterated that tariff-driven price hikes were unlikely to move inflation up, as Fed Chair Jerome Powell has suggested. With inflation still trending downwards to the goal of 2%, she believes that their major focus right now should be on the weakness in the labor market.

Kashkari also admitted that the Trump tariffs have not significantly impacted inflation as projected and that it might be best to cut rates instead of waiting to see how the tariffs will impact inflation in the long run. The Fed has, for a while now, been adopting a wait-and-see approach before it makes a Fed rate cut; however, with the labor market weakening, that could change at the September meeting.