On July 29, the Federal Reserve held steady for the fifth consecutive time.
But the real news isn’t "no rate hike" — it’s the 9 votes in favor versus 3 against.
Three regional Fed presidents — Logan, Harker, Kashkari — directly voted against the rate hike.
Even Waller admitted the meeting discussion was "like a real family argument."
This isn’t just disagreement. This is an open split.
🔴 4 key names
🐦 Dove: Waller — the only one publicly calling for a rate cut. He said the labor market might deteriorate faster, and he supports a 25 basis point cut at the September meeting.
🦅 Hawks: Logan, Harker, Kashkari — the three who just voted against the rate hike.
Harker said inflation has been above 2% for over five years. Logan said "a moderate short-term rate hike can reduce the chance of being forced into aggressive tightening later." Kashkari said gradual hikes are far better than passively waiting and then being forced into drastic action.
⚖️ Referee: Waller — refuses to take sides, only looks at data. He said just three things: inflation is still high, the goal is to bring inflation back to 2%, and he is confident about that. How to achieve it? He didn’t say.
📊 2 reports that will decide the fate
Waller was very clear — whether to hike in September depends on two reports: July CPI + August CPI.
July CPI is out — up 1.8% year-over-year, 0.3% month-over-month, with energy prices jumping 1.3% in the month. Core CPI up 3.1% year-over-year.
This is not cooling down. It’s sticking.
If August also exceeds expectations — Waller might directly shift to more aggressive hikes in September.
📉 1 collective market misjudgment
CME data shows the market currently prices a 67.2% chance of a 25 basis point hike in September.
Chance of a cut? 0%.
But inside the FOMC, there are already clear voices calling for cuts.
On one side, the market fully prices in a hike; on the other, some committee members are calling for cuts.
The gap between spectrum and pricing = the biggest opportunity for a trade based on expectation divergence.
💎 My strategy:
Don’t bet on direction, bet on volatility.
Be prepared for both sides on the two CPI release days.
At the Jackson Hole Symposium from August 27-29, Waller may give the first real policy clues.
Before that — keep ammo ready, don’t max out your positions.
The market now is like a tightly stretched string. 67% hike probability, 3 dissenting votes, 1 person calling for cuts, 2 CPI reports yet to come.
Whoever lets go first, hurts first.
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