Fed to Cut Rates, But With No Added Signal: Decision-Day Guide

Expectations are set for two things from this week’s Federal Reserve meeting: Officials will lower rates by a quarter percentage point and Chair Jerome Powell will offer little guidance as a growing divide among policymakers blurs the path ahead.

Powell signaled earlier this month the Federal Open Market Committee remained focused on threats to the labor market. Then, a delayed inflation report published last week came in softer than expected, likely keeping the Fed’s inflation hawks at bay for now.

“The labor data continues to play a larger role in the debate,” said Krishna Guha, head of global policy ...