Hawks seize the high ground of public opinion to oppose interest rate cuts in December, rare internal dissent in the spotlight at the Fed.

Some policymakers at the Federal Reserve have intensified warnings about the possibility of inflation progress slowing down or even stagnating, raising doubts about whether there will be another hike in December. At the same time, their voices have exposed deepening divisions within the central bank. Officials generally agree that the labor market has cooled off, but they disagree on whether the slowdown will worsen. Some are optimistic about price pressures, while others caution that the current level of interest rates may have little effect on the economy, and further rate cuts could jeopardize the progress made on inflation. This public debate is highly unusual. It reflects the difficulty of interpreting the current economic situation, as well as the challenges faced by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell in reaching a consensus on monetary policy direction.