BlockBeats news, on October 27, Bank of America predicted that, ahead of the upcoming Federal Reserve interest rate meeting, Chair Powell’s October press conference will follow the brief format from September, lasting approximately 30 minutes and possibly without a Q&A session.
Bank of America believes that if the Fed chooses to raise rates, Walsh would face relatively less communication pressure, needing only to emphasize that inflation remains high and broad-based, financial conditions are not sufficiently tight, and the economy and labor market continue to be strong. His core objective is to avoid appearing overly hawkish and to prevent rate hikes from causing excessive tightening of financial conditions.
If standing pat, Walsh must strongly guard against market skepticism regarding the Fed’s credibility. Facing robust September inflation data, even explanations emphasizing trends over single data points struggle to dispel suspicions of complacency on inflation—after all, similar prior trends led to the September rate hike. If Walsh is unwilling to signal a quarterly tightening pace to lock in a December rate increase, the market may again witness yield curve distortion and steepening, a weaker dollar, and risk asset sell-offs.
Finally, Bank of America maintains its view that the Federal Reserve will raise rates in December 2026 and March 2027; it also emphasizes that, if inflation proves more persistent than expected in the first half of 2027, further rate hikes cannot be ruled out.