Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Worsh just delivered his first policy-theme speech since taking office at Jackson Hole.

The core message is hawkish in tone, with the main points as follows:

A 2% inflation target is unshakeable: He made it clear that the Fed’s 2% price-stability target, measured by PCE, is firm and fixed.

Inflation is still too high, and the trend has not improved meaningfully: Although this summer’s PCE and CPI data beat expectations, it does not indicate that the underlying trend has meaningfully improved.

Financial conditions are not restrictive enough: “Overall, I find it difficult to describe the current broad financial conditions as restrictive.”

Inflation will not automatically come down: He warned that inflation may not self-correct—achieving price stability is the Fed’s responsibility, with “no excuses.”

Policy criteria: We must be confident that underlying inflation is becoming clearly visible and converging toward the target at a sufficient pace; otherwise, “we still have work to do.”

Continued emphasis on reducing forward guidance; interest rates remain the primary tool.

Immediate market reaction: After the speech, the probability of a rate hike in September rose from about 30% to nearly 49%. The probability of keeping rates unchanged fell from 71% to 50%. Overall, it was viewed as a hawkish signal, emphasizing fighting inflation first.

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