On January 8, local time, the Federal Reserve released the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting from December 17 to 18, 2024. The minutes of the meeting showed that the Federal Reserve decided to lower the target range of the federal funds rate by 25 basis points, bringing its benchmark funds rate to a range of 4.25%-4.5%. This is the Fed's third consecutive interest rate cut, and the cumulative reduction has reached 1 percentage point. However, committee members expect the pace of rate cuts to slow significantly in 2025, with just 75 basis points expected for the full year. Market futures prices show that the degree of policy easing in 2025 may be slightly lower than this expectation. Still, market participants still have considerable uncertainty about the path of the federal funds rate over the next year.

When discussing inflation developments, participants noted that although inflation has slowed significantly from its peak in 2022, it is still on the high side. Participants commented that overall inflation has slowed in 2024, with some recent monthly price readings coming in higher than expected. Still, most said progress in inflation remained evident across a broad range of core goods and services prices. #BTC☀