23% expect March FOMC rate cut after Warsh nomination

The number of traders expecting an interest rate cut at the March Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting has risen to 23%, following investor fears of a hawkish stance from Kevin Warsh, US President Donald Trump’s Federal Reserve chair nominee. Traders forecasting a rate cut surged nearly 5% from Friday, when 18.4% signaled a cut, CME Group data show.

Those anticipating a March move expect a 25 basis point cut, with no investors expecting a reduction of 50 basis points or more. President Trump nominated Warsh in January as a replacement for Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, whose term is over in May. Interest rate policy can influence crypto asset prices, with easing liquidity conditions seen as a positive price catalyst, and tightening liquidity conditions through higher rates impacting asset prices negatively, as access to financing dries up.

Markets and investors were unsettled by the nomination.

United States