Fed spokesperson: The debate at the Fed's September meeting will focus on a 25 basis point rate cut or a larger 50 basis point rate cut

Nick Timiraos, the "Fed mouthpiece," wrote that the July CPI data cleared the way for the Fed to start cutting interest rates at its next meeting. As the labor market has recently shown signs of potential weakness, the debate at the Fed's September meeting will focus on whether to cut interest rates by a traditional 25 basis points or a larger 50 basis points. The inflation data released on Wednesday did not resolve this debate. Instead, the debate may depend on labor market reports, including weekly initial jobless claims and the August non-farm payrolls report, which will be released on September 6. The inflation report released on Wednesday was mild, but the strong rise in housing costs may reduce enthusiasm for the data. However, Fed leaders have hinted that they are ready to start cutting interest rates next month, in part because inflation data in May and June were also much milder. (Jin Shi P)