But Fed Chair Jerome Powell has signaled the bar would be higher for a further reduction in January. Powell's robust defense of Fed independence in response to ongoing pressure from Trump to lower rates confirms this, ING added. Yet, US inflation has been well above the bank's two-percent target for over five years, said former Cleveland Fed president Loretta Mester. She said her case is about whether the Fed will set rates "guided by evidence and independent judgment or will succumb to political pressure." Policymakers seen as "hawkish" favor higher rates to fight inflation, while a "dovish" Fed tends towards lower levels.
