After the first significant interest rate cut, Federal Reserve officials have been making statements one after another.

Last week, governors Waller and Bowman made important speeches, and this Monday saw two more officials express their views.

On Monday, September 23rd, local time, Kashkari, the President of the Minneapolis Fed and a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) in 2026, indicated in an article that the Fed's policy remains tight even after last week's 50 basis point rate cut, and he expects a further 50 basis point cut before the end of the year.

The pace of future rate cuts is expected to be smaller... For now, it is anticipated that there will be two more 25 basis point cuts within the year.

Kashkari said he supports the decision to cut rates by 50 basis points last week, as inflation has cooled significantly and is approaching the Fed's 2% target, while the labor market is showing signs of weakness.

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Later, Bostic, the President of the Atlanta Fed and a voting member of the FOMC this year, also expressed full support for the 50 basis point rate cut in September.

He said his concerns about inflation might have led him to decide on a relatively smaller initial rate cut last week, such as 25 basis points, but such a cut would mask the increasing uncertainty in the labor market trend.

He believes that the Fed has made "substantial progress" in fighting inflation, while the risks in the labor market have increased, but it has not yet "turned red."

Also on Monday, Goolsbee, the President of the Chicago Fed and a voting member of the FOMC next year, even mentioned multiple rate cuts.

As the Fed seeks to achieve a soft landing that controls inflation without hitting the labor market, he expects that if the economic situation continues as is, he anticipates "multiple rate cuts in the next 12 months."

Kashkari has always been seen as one of the more dovish officials within the Fed.

Before the Fed's September rate decision, Kashkari hinted that the labor market might be overly weak, which could make a rate cut in September appropriate.

In his article on Monday, he wrote: The balance of risks has shifted from rising inflation to the risk of further weakening in the labor market, so it is necessary to lower the federal funds rate.

Kashkari expects a further 50 basis point cut within the year, and he believes that although there is uncertainty in the underlying strength of the U.S. economy, growth and consumer spending are still strong.

He expects the Fed's policy rate to be 4.4% by the end of 2024, and further reduced to 3.4% by the end of 2025, consistent with the median forecast of Fed officials last week, and the future interest rate path will depend on the overall performance of the data to be released.

Kashkari also said that the neutral rate may have risen.

The longer this economic resilience lasts, the more signals I get that the temporary rise in the neutral rate may actually be more structural.

He expects the long-term federal funds rate to be around 2.9%, higher than the 2.5% forecast in March.

At last week's meeting, the Fed officials' forecast for this rate also rose, from 2.5% a year ago to 2.9%.

Bostic said in a speech on Monday that the data shows inflation is falling faster than he expected, which is very encouraging.

He pointed out that in the three months through July, core PCE (excluding more volatile food and energy costs) inflation rose at an annual rate of 1.7%, far below the Fed's 2% inflation target.

In addition, core service prices excluding housing—one of the stubborn culprits of U.S. inflation—are also cooling.

Bostic said that as the unemployment rate rises, hiring slows down, and job vacancies decline from the peak of 2022, the labor market is weakening, but not weak.

The labor market has not yet "turned red" for me.

Bostic also said that the U.S. economy is rapidly returning to normal and needs more normal interest rates.

As inflation approaches the Fed's target and the labor market becomes more balanced, it is time to restore interest rates to a neutral level.

Goolsbee said that whether the next step is a 25 basis point or 50 basis point rate cut is not important, what matters is the "long line" of policy.

The Fed's post-meeting interest rate expectation "dot plot" is almost consistent with the future policy path.

When mentioning multiple rate cuts in the next year, Goolsbee said that these expected rate cuts will help maintain the current economic situation.

The current policy rate is far above the neutral rate level, and the Fed's forecast for the neutral rate is around 3%.

Returning to the neutral rate is a long journey.

"In the next 12 months, we still have a long way to go before we can reduce interest rates to a neutral level," Goolsbee commented, inflation has "dropped significantly" from its peak and has been close to the Fed's 2% target in recent months.

He said, "Basically, we want to freeze both sides of the Fed's dual mandate here," but the policy rate is at a high level not seen in more than two decades.

If we want to cool down the economy, there is a reason to maintain such high interest rates, but if we want to keep the economy as it is, there is no reason to still have such interest rates.

Goolsbee said that since Fed policymakers have confidence that the inflation rate will fall back to the target of 2%, the Fed "should not only consider inflation but also consider employment risks...

This may mean that there will be many more rate cuts in the next year."

Goolsbee was satisfied with the Fed's decision to start cutting rates significantly last week, saying: "I am very pleased to see such a start - the announcement on Wednesday last week to lower the federal funds rate by 50 basis points - this marks that we are starting to consider the Fed's dual mandate more.

If we want a soft landing, we cannot lag behind the situation."

Last week, the Fed unexpectedly cut rates by 50 basis points, and the dot plot showed that the median forecast of Fed officials is to cut rates by another 50 basis points in the remaining two meetings this year.

Subsequently, two heavyweight FOMC voting members, Fed governors Waller and Bowman, both made speeches, hinting that the Fed's pace of rate cuts may be adjusted.

Waller said that the latest inflation data is "softer than expected," and if the economy develops roughly as expected, there may be 25 basis point rate cuts in December this year and January next year.

Waller supported a 50 basis point rate cut at the September meeting.

Compared with Kashkari, Bostic, and Waller, Bowman is more cautious.

Bowman previously opposed the 50 basis point rate cut at the September meeting, becoming the first Fed governor to vote against the interest rate policy decision since 2005.

She believes that a 25 basis point rate cut in September is more prudent and that the U.S. economy is still "strong," and the labor market is "close to full employment," but at the same time, she emphasized that the inflation rate is still higher than the Fed's 2% target.

Bowman said that we should avoid sending a signal to the market that the Fed has prematurely declared "victory over inflation" and prevent further stimulating demand.

Choosing a 25 basis point rate cut can avoid the risk of "overstimulating demand."