📝 Executive Summary
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee stated that inflation remains too high and is moving in the wrong direction, signaling a hawkish tilt that jolted financial markets. The comment dampened expectations for near-term rate cuts, lifting the U.S. dollar and Treasury yields while weighing on equities and gold. Investors now price a lower probability of easing in 2026, refocusing on the Fed's data-dependent stance.