After the release of macro data, the probability of a September rate hike by the Federal Reserve falls to about 33%

After a series of recent U.S. macroeconomic data releases, Wall Street traders have significantly adjusted their bets on the Fed’s near-term policy path. According to reports citing data from the CME Group “FedWatch” tool, the market-implied probability of a rate hike at the September FOMC meeting has dropped to around 33%. Meanwhile in the early hours of August 20 Beijing time, the Fed will release the minutes from the July FOMC meeting. Chicago Fed President Goolsbee said that the recent cooling of inflation is encouraging, and he expects that data in the coming months will continue to improve to confirm that inflation is returning to the 2% target. Together, the above information forms the main backdrop for the repricing of current interest-rate expectations.

In terms of event context, the Fed’s interest-rate decisions have long been an important anchor for global asset pricing. Traders use instruments such as federal funds futures to translate their views on economic growth, inflation stickiness, and employment conditions into tradable probabilities. CME FedWatch-type tools are based on related futures pricing and reflect the market’s implied odds that the Federal Open Market Committee will keep, raise, or lower the federal funds target rate at its next meeting. What needs to be clearly distinguished is that tool readings are the result of market trading—not an official commitment by the Fed, nor a guarantee of the final decision. They can move quickly with incoming data, officials’ remarks, and risk events.

The core facts can be summarized in three points. First, after this week’s macro data release, traders sharply cut their bets on a September rate hike, corresponding to a probability falling to about one-third. Second, with the July meeting minutes about to be released, the market hopes to glean from them internal discussion details by the committee regarding inflation, growth, and the policy timetable. Third, Goolsbee’s latest remarks focusing on the trend of easing inflation, along with his emphasis that data in the coming months needs to continue to confirm a return to the 2% target, echoes the pricing direction of “lower urgency for near-term hikes.” All of the above are facts at the level of information that has already been disclosed, and they do not involve assertions about the outcome of the decision.

In terms of logic, a decline in the rate-hike probability usually corresponds to a few observable conditions: inflation readings show signs of easing; growth or demand indicators no longer support the need for further tightening right away; and some regional Fed officials place greater emphasis on patience and data dependence. A drop from a higher probability level to about 33% suggests that the trading book has shifted from “more likely to act” to “more likely to hold,” but the remaining roughly 30% probability also indicates that a September rate hike has not been fully ruled out. If the minutes’ text shows continued concern about inflation stickiness or heightened caution about external shocks, the probability could rise again; conversely, if the minutes reinforce a wait-and-see consensus, existing pricing may become even more solid. Individual officials’ speeches can carry signal value, but they are not sufficient to represent the committee’s overall stance; continuous data and remarks from multiple committee members remain more critical.

The transmission path to the crypto market mainly runs through three channels: liquidity expectations, real-rate narratives, and risk appetite—rather than a linear mapping from a single probability number. When the market lowers the probability of a near-term rate hike, it often implies a marginal easing of concerns about further tightening; dollar funding conditions and global risk-asset sentiment may improve in tandem. Mainstream crypto assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, as high-volatility risk assets, have historically tended to react to shifts in the direction of rate expectations. When expectations cool, a repair in risk appetite helps funds recover their risk budgets; if subsequent data repeatedly revives concerns about inflation as meeting minutes turn more hawkish or external shocks trigger renewed re-inflation worries, expectations could quickly reverse and crypto asset volatility would likely amplify accordingly. It is crucial to separate facts from speculation: the facts are that the current September rate-hike probability is about 33%, that the minutes will be released, and that Goolsbee mentioned the cooling of inflation; the speculation is that “the probability drop will inevitably lead to sustained gains” or that “the crypto market has already priced everything in”—the latter has no supporting evidence and can only be treated as scenario discussion.

Our editorial take and observation are as follows: we are currently on the eve of a window packed with data and text, so the decline in readings looks more like traders’ immediate reaction to recent macro cues rather than a conclusion that the policy cycle has already turned. A probability of about 33% means “hold steady” is becoming the more mainstream baseline scenario, but event risk remains—especially the wording in the meeting minutes, subsequent inflation and employment data, and external variables such as energy that could affect prices. For participants in the crypto market, it is more valuable to track whether rate-expectation expectations are stable, whether dollar liquidity expectations are improving in sync, and whether linkages among risk assets are consistent—rather than interpreting a single probability fluctuation as a trend-reversal signal. Overall, this repricing adjustment provides conditions for sentiment to ease, but the medium-term direction still depends on subsequent verification, not on the probability shift by itself.

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