Nick Timiraos – a veteran reporter for the Wall Street Journal, often dubbed the "Fed's megaphone" – reported that Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Friday opened the possibility of interest rate cuts as early as the next meeting. He emphasized that the labor market outlook is showing signs of significantly slowing down, while the impact from tariffs may no longer be a factor driving costs up and pushing inflation higher as previously feared.

However, Powell also tempered expectations for a strong easing cycle by asserting that the Fed still has many concerns regarding inflation. In fact, U.S. inflation has remained above the 2% target for more than four consecutive years, forcing the Fed to carefully weigh between price stability and supporting growth.