Economic Research: The Fed's speech confirmed that interest rate hikes would be suspended in January, and opinions became more divided

Golden Finance reported that the Fed is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged at its January 28-29 meeting, the first pause since the Fed launched its rate-cutting cycle in September. Since the December meeting, the Fed's speech has been roughly consistent with the hawkish Summary of Economic Projections (SEP) released at the time - although Fed Governor Christopher Waller's dovish remarks in mid-January are worth noting. As new members rotate into the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voting committee, the distribution of opinions is moving away from the midpoint and toward the extremes. Members seem to have reached a broad consensus on keeping interest rates unchanged in January, but differences of opinion within the committee could lead to policy inaction, and the risk of dissent will rise over time.