Powell’s Caution Dashes Bond-Market Bets on Aggressive Rate Cuts

Jerome Powell pushed back against bond traders betting that the Federal Reserve would sweep in with a series of aggressive interest-rate cuts to prevent the US economy from stalling.

While the central bank lowered its benchmark rate by a quarter percentage point, as widely expected — and penciled in two more such moves this year — the Fed chair indicated he’s not abandoning his cautious approach, still mindful of the risks of inflation. Nor did policymakers buckle to pressure from Donald Trump to lower rates more deeply, with the only dissent coming from the White House adviser the president just named to the board.