Economists divided over Fed's signal to cut rates next week

The recent spike in inflation data has sparked disagreement among economists over whether Federal Reserve officials will signal a 2024 rate cut at next week's policy meeting. A survey showed that 41% of economists expect the "dot plot" will show two rate cuts, while another 41% of economists expect to show only one rate cut or no rate cut at all. Ryan Sweet, chief U.S. economist at the Oxford Economics Institute, said: "The Fed is waiting for a series of data to increase its confidence that inflation will continue to move toward its 2 percent target." The Fed is almost certain to leave rates unchanged next week, and fewer cuts would mean a later start, which could have implications for the presidential election in November.