Fed’s Powell to Address Rate Cuts at Jackson Hole: What to Know

19. Aug.

The annual Jackson Hole Monetary Policy Symposium takes place this week. Jay Powell, head of the Federal Reserve, will step up to the podium on August 23 and shed light into the central bank’s interest rate-cut timeline. His words will echo around global markets and either propel stocks higher on rate-cut optimism or knock them down if the outlook turns gloomy in the lead-up to the Fed's rate-setting meeting on September 18. No in-between.

The most exclusive retreat in central banking — the Jackson Hole Monetary Policy Symposium — is gathering top bankers, economists, financiers and other financial heavyweights for three days of idea swapping, hint dropping and market popping (hopefully.)

What’s Jackson Hole?

Every August, the top dogs in global finance trade their suits for some Wyoming flannel and gather at Jackson Hole. Hosted by the Kansas City Fed since 1978, this is the forum to brainstorm the future of monetary policy and send it out to traders ready to absorb every word. It’s like summer camp for the financial elite, except the campfire stories can crash markets or send them soaring.

When the Fed Chair speaks here, the world listens. Major policy shifts have been telegraphed at Jackson Hole, from hints of rate hikes to the next round of quantitative easing. If you’re trading, you can’t afford to ignore what’s said — or not said — in these mountain-side discussions.

Highlights from Past Forums

2010: Ben Bernanke, then Fed Chair, hinted at QE2, a measure to spur growth and keep prices steady through bond purchases, and the markets took off like a rocket. Were you long? Because it was a good time to be long.

2020: Jerome Powell unveiled a major shift in Fed policy towards average inflation targeting. The central bank was more inclined to tolerate inflation above the ideal 2% target before it started pumping interest rates.

Expectations for This Week’s Gathering

This week’s Fed event will be especially meaningful and consequential. The Fed boss is slated to present his keynote address on August 23. Jay Powell, the man who moves markets with a simple “Good afternoon,” has a lot to break down.

Inflation has been going down recently. The latest figures show the consumer price index for July slipped under the 3% mark for the first time since 2021.

Consumer spending remains resilient. The retail sales report, again for July, showed that the mighty American shopper upped spending by 1%, topping expectations.

The labor market, however, got way off the beaten path. Just 114,000 new jobs were created in July. This is also what caused the global market shake-up that sent ripples through every asset class — from stocks to crypto and beyond.

Against this economic backdrop, Jay Powell will be moving markets and making headlines as he delivers his remarks. Front and center is some sort of further confirmation of an expected interest rate cut — already communicated and most likely already priced in.

The question now is not if, but by how much interest rates are getting trimmed. Analysts expect borrowing costs to go down either by 25 basis points or a bigger, juicier 50-basis-point cut. And here’s what each one of these means and what’s at stake.

If the Fed chooses to cut rates down by 25bps, it risks not doing enough to prevent the economy from tipping into a recession. Higher rates for longer make it more difficult for businesses to borrow and drive growth.

But if the Fed chooses to cut rates by too much — a jumbo 50bps cut — it runs the risk of reigniting inflation and, what’s even more, fueling another speculative bull run in the markets. Low rates make money less expensive as loans cost less.

The expansive monetary policy measure of cutting interest rates aims to boost economic growth both on the business level and the consumer level. Companies take out loans to expand their operations, build new stuff and hire more workers. And the average consumer finds it easier to get a mortgage or buy a new car (or some BTCUSD?).

Overall, more money is spinning around, creating opportunity and offering liquidity for deals across markets.

Brace yourselves as Jay Powell gets ready to drop some hints and prepare the audience for the Fed’s next meeting coming September 17-18. The markets may very well be heading into a rollercoaster few weeks as they try to predict the scale of interest rate cuts. Are you getting ready to pop a trade open this week? Share your thoughts and expectations below!