TD Securities strategists said on Friday that they expect the Federal Reserve to launch the first of this round of three rate hikes in September. Previously, their forecast was that the central bank would stand still for the rest of 2026. Strategists, including Oscar Munoz and Gennadiy Goldberg, wrote in a research report released on Friday: “We expect a total of three rate hikes in this cycle, and the next two interest rate hikes will take place in October and January next year. The Federal Reserve may not provide forward-looking indicators, but the bitmap should be hawkish.” This forecast adjustment occurred after the US CPI for August, which was announced on Friday when it was higher than expected. The data prompted traders to raise their expectations for the Fed's recent rate hike, the strategist wrote in the report: “After the August CPI showed a lack of progress in inflation, we expect the Fed to start the rate hike cycle in September.”

TD Securities strategists said on Friday that they expect the Federal Reserve to launch the first of this round of three rate hikes in September. Previously, their forecast was that the central bank would stand still for the rest of 2026. Strategists, including Oscar Munoz and Gennadiy Goldberg, wrote in a research report released on Friday: “We expect a total of three rate hikes in this cycle, and the next two interest rate hikes will take place in October and January next year. The Federal Reserve may not provide forward-looking indicators, but the bitmap should be hawkish.” This forecast adjustment occurred after the US CPI for August, which was announced on Friday when it was higher than expected. The data prompted traders to raise their expectations for the Fed's recent rate hike, the strategist wrote in the report: “After the August CPI showed a lack of progress in inflation, we expect the Fed to start the rate hike cycle in September.”