Federal Reserve Watch for Aug. 19: Bowman Still Believes Rate Reduction Would Have Been Appropriate at July FOMC Meeting

02:52 PM EDT, 08/19/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman (voter) told Bloomberg in an interview that she still believes that a rate reduction at the July 29-30 Federal Open Market Committee meeting was appropriate and stands by her dissent at that meeting.

Recent comments of note:

(Aug. 14) St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem (voter) said in an interview with CNBC that it is too early to promise a rate cut at the Sept. 16-17 FOMC meeting but said that he believes that a 50-basis rate cut that some are hoping for is not justifiable in the current economic environment and outlook for economy. Musalem, speaking after the release of much-stronger-than-expected July producer price inflation data, said that tariff price impacts are just beginning to be seen and that while he expects to see those effects to fade in six-to-nine months, they may also be more persistent.

(Aug. 13) Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic (nonvoter) noted the weakness seen in the July employment data and said that lower-income consumers and small businesses are beginning to feel the impact of tariffs. Bostic also said that unemployment remains low.

(Aug. 13) Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee (voter) said that tariffs-related price pressures have begun to be seen in the available data, adding that the effects may not be transitory.

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