The odds of a December Fed rate cut have rebounded massively today, providing a bullish outlook for Bitcoin and the broader crypto market, which are facing an intense sell-off. The rebound in the rate-cut odds follows New York Fed President John Williams’ speech, in which he opened the door to another near-term cut.
December Fed Rate Cut Still Play Following John Williams’ Remarks
CME FedWatch data shows that the odds of a 25-basis-point (bps) rate cut have climbed to almost 71% following John Williams’ speech. This follows an earlier drop earlier this week, as hopes of a cut next month faded due to several factors.
As CoinGape reported, the odds of a 25 bps Fed rate cut dropped to as low as 33% following the BLS cancellation of the October jobs report. However, traders began increasing their bets on a December cut yesterday following the release of the September jobs report, which, in part, suggested that the labor market was still weakening, with a rise in unemployment.
Now, Fed President John Williams has further revived hopes of a December cut. In his remarks at the Central Bank of Chile Centennial Conference, he stated that he still sees room for near-term adjustment to the target range for the federal funds rate to move to a more neutral policy stance, thereby maintaining the balance between their dual mandate.
This came as he admitted that monetary policy was still modestly restrictive, with more room to come down. As such, this has raised the possibility that the Fed president will support another rate cut at the December FOMC meeting.
The Bitcoin price bounced on the back of this development, rising from an intraday low below $82,000 to as high as $83,800. A potential rate cut marks a positive for BTC amid this market sell-off. Notably, the flagship crypto had surged to new all-time highs (ATHs) earlier this year just before the Fed lowered rates at the September and October meetings.
