According to BlockBeats, on December 19, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell said at a press conference that even if the inflation rate drops to 2.5% next year, the Federal Reserve may still cut interest rates because inflation is moving in the right direction.

Powell noted that if core PCE inflation falls to an annual rate of 2.5%, that would indicate meaningful progress in reducing inflation.

According to the FOMC's latest quarterly economic projections summary, the Federal Reserve expects PCE and core PCE inflation to fall to 2.5% in 2025, still above the 2% target, and expects two interest rate cuts in 2025.