Recent September FOMC actions lifted the federal funds target range to 3.75-4.00 percent and revised the median 2026 dot to 4.1 percent, signaling one additional 25-basis-point hike before year-end amid resilient growth and core PCE inflation near 3.4 percent. Minneapolis Fed President Kashkari and other officials have voiced openness to further tightening into 2027 if labor-market strength and price pressures persist, while futures markets assign roughly 88 percent odds to at least one more move by December. With the October 27-28 meeting imminent and September employment data showing 162,000 payroll gains and a steady 4.1 percent unemployment rate, traders weigh the pace of any October or December hike against the risk that softer inflation prints could support a pause sequence.