Feds Next Rate Move Has Traders Staring at a Coin Toss
Key TakeawaysPolymarket bettors give another Fed hike in October 56% odds, while a pause is still close behind at 44%.CME traders see a 90.1% chance rates finish above todays range by December, with another hike firmly in play.Kalshi bettors put a quarter-point Fed hike on Oct. 28 at 54%, compared with 44% odds that rates stay put. From Rate Cuts to Another Hike in One Month What a difference a month makes. On Aug. 19, CME futures gave the U.S. Federal Reserve a 53.6% chance of cutting rates by 25 basis points at its October meeting. Fast forward through the Feds Sept. 16 hike, its first increase in more than three years, and that same cut is now sitting at precisely 0%. Instead, futures traders give another quarter-point increase a 57.6% probability, against 42.4% for leaving rates alone. The really interesting part is that prediction-market bettors have independently landed in almost exactly the same place. As of Sept. 19, 2026, Polymarket bettors currently put a 56% probability on another 25-basis-point increase at the Oct. 27-28 FOMC meeting, while a hold gets 44%. A bigger increase of 50 basis points or more sits at just 1%, and a quarter-point cut is also around 1%.









