Fed’s Hammack reiterates: time to act now

Hammack's explicit language shifts the Fed's internal debate from whether to cut to how fast, reinforcing market pricing for near-term easing. The significance lies in her role as a regional president, signaling broader committee alignment beyond the chair's stance. For rate-sensitive assets, the key variable is now the pace and magnitude of cuts, not the direction. Watch whether upcoming data, particularly inflation prints, forces a hawkish caveat that slows the expected cadence, or if the 'act now' urgency accelerates the first move.