Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan sent a strong hawkish signal on Friday, stating that she would oppose another rate cut at the December meeting until she sees more "convincing evidence."

Logan pointed out that current inflation remains too high and shows signs of resurging, with the pace of decline being much slower than she expected. In her view, unless data in the coming weeks show a clear and accelerated drop in inflation or the job market experiences "faster cooling beyond the current trend," it would be inappropriate to continue cutting rates.

Logan emphasized that policy still needs to remain "somewhat restrictive" to ensure sufficient braking effect on the economy. Although she supported a "preventive rate cut" in September due to concerns that the labor market might deteriorate, she believes that while the labor market is currently cooling, the process is smooth and resilience remains, thus no longer requiring more "preemptive" easing measures.

In contrast to Logan's hawkish stance, Fed Governor Michelle Bowman believes that the latest data has already provided sufficient justification for the Fed to cut rates further. Bowman stated that since the September policy meeting, "all the data we've received has been dovish," with both inflation and employment weakening to an extent that supports further easing. She noted that inflation data has been lower than expected, core pressures continue to ease, and the labor market is slowing, all of which suggest the central bank should lean more towards continuing rate cuts rather than maintaining a wait-and-see attitude. She emphasized that regarding whether to continue cutting rates, "all of this data should make us more dovish, not the opposite."

Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid also joined the hawkish camp. He stated that further rate cuts could undermine the Fed's credibility regarding its inflation target. He believes the recent weakness in the job market stems more from structural factors, including technological changes and adjustments in immigration policies, issues that cannot be solved simply by cutting rates. He warned that with current economic growth still resilient, hastily continuing to cut rates could rekindle inflationary pressures.

Simultaneously, Schmid emphasized that business concerns about inflation are no longer limited to tariffs; multiple areas such as medical costs, insurance premiums, and electricity bills are bringing broader pressures. He had already voted against a rate cut in October, advocating for maintaining stable rates, and reiterated that the current interest rates only exert "modest pressure" on the economy, which is an appropriate level.

Schmid also mentioned that regarding the balance sheet, he supports ending the balance sheet runoff process in December. However, he believes that in the long term, the size of the Fed's balance sheet should be kept as small as possible and minimally disruptive to the market. He suggested that the Fed could reduce banks' demand for reserves by lowering the reserve requirement ratio or adjusting the Standing Repo Facility, thereby avoiding passive expansion of the balance sheet.

Recently, several Fed officials have voiced cautious stances. On Thursday, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said he did not support the Fed's most recent rate cut, though he has not yet decided on the best course of action for the December policy meeting.

Boston Fed President Susan Collins said on Wednesday that interest rates should be maintained at their current level "for some time" to balance inflation, which remains above the Fed's 2% target (currently 3%), with weakness in labor market hiring. She stated that still-strong growth could slow or hinder progress in cooling price pressures.

Other hawkish officials, including Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, have expressed similar views in recent weeks, all warning against cutting rates again.

Meanwhile, officials advocating for rate cuts, besides Bowman, include Fed Governors Lisa D. Cook, Christopher J. Waller, and Michelle W. Bowman.