Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh stated at a press conference following the interest rate hike, "I am not a data point person," framing decision-making around institutional goals rather than single-month readings.

On the same day, the committee voted 12-0 to raise the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 3.75%–4.00%. The statement noted that this action would support a quicker return to the 2% target and specified that inflation remains high. The August CPI year-on-year was 3.4%, and retail sales rebounded by 1.2% month-on-month.

Since taking office, Warsh has repeatedly emphasized price stability as an unequivocal commitment and has stated that it is difficult to describe broad financial conditions as restrictive, attributing the responsibility for 65 consecutive months of inflation above target to the central bank. The dot plot still indicates that all 16 committee members expect at least one more hike this year.

This statement counters Powell's public rhetoric of "data dependence": by denying being driven by a single data point after a unanimous rate hike, it signals to the market that the path is determined by the target function, not by the next CPI decimal.

Mechanically, this is an expectation management driven by a shift in communication style. The short end has priced in the rate hike, and traders are now buying and selling based on whether there will be another hike at the next meeting, rather than revisiting today’s 25 basis points. Benefiting are positions treating 2% as a hard constraint against inflation; pressured are those hoping for a round of weaker data to reverse the dot plot's rate cut trades. Funds are parked at the short end, waiting to see if the chairman will implement "not a data point person" for another move in December.

Source: Public information