FOMC Vote to Hold Rates Was 10-2, With Lisa Cook and Beth Hammack Voting for an Increase

The Fed's pause was not unanimous.

The FOMC decision to hold rates was 10-2, with Lisa Cook and Beth Hammack voting for an increase.

The split contrasts with September, when the committee voted 12-0 to raise rates by 25 basis points to the current 3.75% to 4.00% range, the first hike since 2023.

Two Votes for More Tightening

Cook and Hammack's dissents put them on the hawkish end of a committee that Warsh described as reaching an overwhelming consensus that the monetary medicine is starting to work.

Warsh said he is unwilling and unable to call financial conditions tight, and that inflation remains elevated in the US, language that keeps a December hike firmly on the table.

The Fed also said it awaits more information in determining the policy path, leaving the committee in wait-and-see mode into the December 8-9 meeting.

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What It Means for the Options Market

Dissenting votes for a hike tell traders the bias is still toward tightening, which matters for how December contracts get priced over the next six weeks.

Watch TLT for duration positioning after the split vote, SPY into year-end, and regional banks like KRE as the higher-for-longer debate continues.

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