On January 28th, local time, the Federal Reserve maintained its stance as expected, indicating no urgency to act, but Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller supported a further rate cut of 25 basis points. In this statement, the Federal Reserve adjusted its description of the U.S. economic outlook compared to the December meeting last year:
<ul>
<li>The Federal Reserve's description of economic activity changed from &#34;expanding at a moderate pace&#34; last month to &#34;expanding at a robust pace.&#34;</li>
<li>Regarding the labor market, the Federal Reserve added the statement &#34;employment growth remains slow,&#34; modifying the previous description of &#34;employment growth slowing.&#34; The Federal Reserve now states, &#34;the unemployment rate has shown some signs of stabilization,&#34; removing last month's statement that &#34;the unemployment rate had risen as of September; more recent indicators are consistent with these changes.&#34;</li>
<li>Due to a more optimistic assessment of the labor market compared to last month, the Federal Reserve removed the statements &#34;the assessment of downside risks to employment has increased in recent months&#34; and &#34;considering the changes in risk balance.&#34;</li>
<li>The Federal Reserve stated, &#34;inflation remains slightly elevated,&#34; while last month's statement was &#34;inflation has risen from the beginning of the year.&#34; The change in the inflation description is minimal.</li>
</ul>
It is noteworthy that there were two dissenting votes at this meeting:
<ul>
<li>Stephen Moore, a Federal Reserve governor appointed by President Trump last September, cast another dissenting vote, believing that rates should be cut by 25 basis points. Moore voted against the rate cuts in the September, October, and December meetings last year, arguing for a 50 basis point cut.</li>
<li>Federal Reserve Governor Waller expressed dissent regarding the interest rate decision in the January meeting, believing that rates should be cut by 25 basis points. Waller's vote is a significant highlight of this meeting. Analysts suggest that this means his candidacy for Federal Reserve Chair remains viable, as Trump prefers to nominate someone who supports rate cuts as the next Federal Reserve Chair. Market predictions indicate that Waller's chances of being nominated for Federal Reserve Chair have slightly increased.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Full Statement Translation</h2>
The full statement translation is as follows. The black text is the same as the December 2025 FOMC meeting statement, the red text is the new addition for January 2026, and the blue text in parentheses indicates the wording deleted from last December's statement (please indicate the source when reprinting):
<blockquote>
Available indicators suggest that economic activity is expanding at a robust (moderate) pace. (Since the beginning of this year) employment growth remains slow (slowing), and the unemployment rate has shown some signs of stabilization (had risen as of September; more recent indicators are consistent with these changes). Inflation (has risen from the beginning of the year) remains slightly elevated.
The Committee seeks to achieve maximum employment and a 2% inflation rate over the long term. Uncertainty regarding the economic outlook remains high. The Committee closely monitors risk factors that may affect its dual mandate (and assesses that downside risks to employment have increased in recent months).
To support its objectives, (and considering changes in the risk balance,) the Committee decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at (a reduction of 0.25 percentage points to) 3.50% to 3.75%. In considering the magnitude and timing of future adjustments to the federal funds rate target range, the Committee will carefully assess incoming data, evolving outlooks, and risk balances. The Committee is firmly committed to supporting maximum employment and returning inflation to its 2% target
In assessing the appropriate monetary policy stance, the committee will continue to monitor the impact of the latest information on the economic outlook. Should risks arise that could hinder the achievement of its goals, the committee will be prepared to adjust the monetary policy stance as deemed appropriate. The committee's assessment will reference a broad range of information, including labor market conditions, inflation pressures and expectations, as well as data on changes in financial and international conditions.
(The committee believes that reserve balances have fallen to adequate levels and will purchase short-term U.S. Treasury securities as needed to maintain a persistently adequate supply of reserves.)
Supporters of this monetary policy include: FOMC Chair Jerome H. Powell, Vice Chair John C. Williams, Michael S. Barr, Michelle W. Bowman, Susan M. Collins, Lisa D. Cook, Beth M. Hammack, Philip N. Jefferson, Neel Kashkari, Lorie K. Logan, and Anna Paulson (Alberto G. Musalem and Christopher J. Waller). Those voting against this move include Stephen I. Miran and Christopher J. Waller, who preferred to lower the federal funds rate target range by 0.25 (0.5) percentage points at this meeting, as well as Austan D. Goolsbee and Jeffrey R. Schmid, who preferred to keep the federal funds rate target range unchanged at this meeting
</blockquote>

In the January statement, the Federal Reserve changed its description of economic activity from "expanding at a moderate pace" to "expanding at a robust pace." The Federal Reserve now states that "job growth remains slow," whereas the previous statement indicated "job growth has slowed." It also mentions that "the unemployment rate has shown some signs of stabilization," removing the phrase "the unemployment rate has risen as of September," and deleted "the assessment of the downside risks to employment has increased." There were two dissenting votes at this meeting, with Federal Reserve Governors Mylan and Waller both supporting a 25 basis point rate cut

- On January 28, 2026, the Federal Reserve decided to maintain interest rates, with Governor Waller supporting a 25 basis point cut.  
- The Fed's assessment of economic activity shifted from "modest expansion" to "robust expansion," and it noted slow employment growth while indicating signs of stability in the unemployment rate.  
- Additionally, the Fed's inflation outlook remained slightly elevated, and there were dissenting votes from Governors Miran and Waller advocating for a rate cut, with potential implications for Waller's candidacy for Fed Chair.

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What changes are there in the full comparison of the Federal Reserve's January meeting statement?