All eyes will be on the US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell’s speech today. Powell will be speaking at the Community Bank Conference on Thursday, October 9, 2025.
The Federal Reserve will host the community banking-focused conference in Washington, bringing together a range of interested parties to discuss key issues facing the community bank sector. The conference will be broadcast live at federalreserve.gov and on YouTube.
At 8:30 a.m., Powell will deliver pre-recorded welcome remarks followed by opening remarks by Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle W. Bowman.
The world has changed since the last rate cut was announced by Powell on September 17. The US government shutdown has put key economic data releases on hold.
In the press conference at the last FOMC meeting in September, Powell and the dot plot hinted at two more rate cuts in 2025.
Markets are expecting a 100% probability of an interest rate cut in October and an 88% chance of another cut in December, both of which have increased since the lockout began.
If the shutdown gets over before the next FOMC meeting scheduled for October 28-29 and the jobs market data shows a deteriorating condition, the case for a rate cut will become stronger. If not, Powell and his team may take a pause.
Even though inflation has not fallen within the US Fed’s range of 2%, Fed officials would be inclined towards lowering interest rates to stimulate the economy and avoid rising unemployment, as job growth has slowed due to tariffs increasing prices.