New York Fed President John Williams said the US central bank still has room to lower interest rates “in the near term” without jeopardizing its progress on inflation. In contrast, Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran said on Friday that he would back a 25-basis-point rate cut.
“I still see room for a further adjustment in the near term to the target range for the federal-funds rate to move the stance of policy closer to the range of neutral,” Williams said on Friday in comments at a Central Bank of Chile event.
“Looking ahead, it is imperative to restore inflation to our 2% longer-run goal on a sustained basis. It is equally important to do so without creating undue risks to our maximum employment goal.”, he added.
Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran said on Friday that he would back a 25-basis-point rate cut if his vote were decisive, pointing to what he called the “obviously dovish” labour market data that was released on Thursday. Speaking on Bloomberg TV, Miran stressed that the Fed should be “forecast-dependent, not data-dependent,” adding that a “lack of data doesn’t mean we don’t have a forecast.”
Market Reaction
Between 12:30 and 14:00 UTC, total crypto market capitalisation climbed 3.6%, with major tokens moving sharply higher: Bitcoin and Ethereum each rose 3.9%, Solana gained 4.1%, BNB added 3.5%, and XRP led the rally with a 5.6% jump.
The move reflects investors’ sensitivity to any hint of monetary easing, with lower rates typically boosting liquidity, risk appetite and demand for high-beta assets like cryptocurrencies.
Traditional markets also reacted positively, with the S&P 500 (SPY) up 0.9% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 rising 1.2%, reflecting broader optimism that a near-term rate cut may be on the table.
According to CME's "FedWatch", the probability of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates by 25 basis points in December increased to 56.4 %, up from 28.5% a day earlier.
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