All eyes are on the Federal Reserve.
The US central bank is expected to announce a 0.25% drop in interest rates at the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on Wednesday, with analysts forecasting another 0.5% in cuts before the year is up.
“The case for an additional 75 basis points of rate cuts [0.75%] this year appears to be strengthening,” James Butterfill, CoinShares head of research, told DL News. “We expect 25 basis points in October and a further 50 basis points in December.”
The data backs him up.
The CME FedWatch tool shows a near 100% chance of a 0.25% cut in interest rates on Wednesday. It also puts almost a 100% chance of it cutting rates again at its December meeting.
Punters on crypto-betting platform Polymarket back that sentiment, giving it a 98% chance of a cut this month and a 89% chance for the December meeting.
The central bank’s meeting comes as investors position around a major geopolitical reset. US President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea on Thursday, as the two sides attempt to hammer out a new trade deal to ease tensions.