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Federal Reserve will opt for slow policy easing as there's 'still work to do' on inflation, Fitch says

The U.S. Federal Reserve's easing cycle will be "mild" by historical standards when it starts cutting rates at its September policy meeting, ratings agency Fitch said in a note.

In its global economic outlook report for September, Fitch forecast 25-basis-point cut each at the central bank's September and December meeting, before it slashes rates by 125 basis points in 2025 and 75 basis points in 2026.

This will add up to a total 250 basis points of cuts in 10 moves across 25 months, Fitch noted, adding that the median cut from peak rates to bottom in previous Fed easing cycles going up to the mid-1950s was 470 basis points, with a median duration of 8 months.

"One reason we expect Fed easing to proceed at a relatively gentle pace is that there is still work to do on inflation," the report said.

This is because CPI inflation is still above the Fed's stated inflation target of 2%.

Fitch also pointed out that the recent decline in the core inflation — which excludes prices of food and energy — rate mostly reflected the drop in automobile prices, which may not last.

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