Economist: The next Fed rate cut could be months away

Odaily Odaily News Alliance Bernstein senior economist Eric Winograd wrote that the Federal Reserve needs to make progress on inflation and "some weakness" in the job market before it can cut interest rates again, which may take several months. A rate hike is unlikely because there is no sign that inflation is accelerating again. Winograd said that in addition to the strong overall data, the three-month moving average increase in employment was the same as in November. The unemployment rate fell slightly from 4.2% to 4.1%, "and has been between 4.0% and 4.2% for the past 7 months," Winograd believes, "There is no reason to expect anything other than the soft landing we are currently enjoying." (Jinshi)