US Fed Minutes (July 29-30)

The minutes of the Fed’s late-July FOMC meeting reveal that there was no broader support for a rate cut beyond the two formal dissenters – Trump appointees Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller. These minutes pre-date the release of the July employment report, however, which showed a much bigger-than-expected drop off in labour demand over the summer. The upshot is that, although the minutes could be considered slightly hawkish, they tell us little about the prospects for a rate cut at the upcoming meeting in mid-September.