Analysis: Fed rate cut this week will be seen as a "low-risk" move

Federal Reserve chairperson Jerome Powell has defined last month's 25 basis point rate cut as a risk management move - a low-risk operation designed to avoid undue drag on the economy. Neil Dutta, chief economist at Renaissance Macro, said another 25 basis point cut this week would be as manageable. "The build-up of labour market weakness makes it reasonable to expect inflation to cool as a result," Mr. Dutta said, adding that job cuts announced by a number of large companies were evidence that the employment environment was becoming increasingly difficult for workers. Meanwhile, Mr. Dutta said an in-depth look at price data suggested core inflation should be close to the Fed's target if tariffs were excluded.