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Fed rate hike in 2026?

Crossbook compares what two exchanges, Polymarket and Kalshi, charge for the same event, and publishes a permanent scored record of its own forecasts under published rules.

Tracked on one venue, with Crossbook's own call on the record.

TradingContract settles 9 Dec 2026Last checked 8 Sept 2026, 14:50 UTC
PM70.5%bid 70.0% / ask 71.0%24h volume $3K · liquidity $106Kas of 8 Sept, 14:50 UTCView on Polymarket

Crossbook forecast

  • 63.0%against a market price of 70.5% at the timeOpen

    Logged 7 Sept 2026, 02:11 UTC

    • Outside view: late-cycle resumption of hikes after a 9+ month hold is historically uncommon, capping the estimate well below certainty despite hawkish signals [f2].
    • Strong inside-view hawkish evidence: the June 2026 dot plot median implies at least one hike by year-end and 9 of 18 participants penciled one in; three FOMC members already dissented for a hike in July [f6, f7, f3].
    • The sitting Fed Chair (Warsh) publicly flagged that inflation trends have not meaningfully improved and the Fed may have 'work to do' at Jackson Hole — chairs rarely signal this way without follow-through, and FedWatch moved to ~55.7% for a September hike [f8, f9].
    • Inflation remains well above target (PCE 3.7%, headline CPI 3.4%) and the August jobs report beat with positive revisions, both supporting the hike case [f10, f11, f12].
    • Dovish counterweight: core CPI is only 2.5% y/y and Governor Waller favors patience in September; a 9-3 hold vote in July shows a hike was still the minority position then [f11, f13, f3].
    • Three remaining meetings (Sept 16, Oct 27-28, Dec 8-9) mean the YES side gets multiple draws; even if September holds, elevated inflation keeps October/December live, so cumulative probability exceeds the ~56% September-only pricing [f4, f5].
    • Key swing factor is the August CPI release on September 11, five days before the FOMC decision — a soft print likely produces a September hold and materially lowers the path to YES [f14].

    What would change it: A soft August CPI print on September 11 followed by a September hold and dovish Warsh press conference would drop this estimate to roughly 0.35-0.40, since October/December hikes after a September hold are historically rare.

Context

Polymarket prices this at 71%. No verified equivalent is currently listed on the other venue, so there is no cross venue comparison on this page.

Volume over the last 24 hours is modest, at about $2,627 on the busier venue.

Related markets

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