Jerome Powell, Chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve. Yonhap News.   

As the U.S. September benchmark interest rate decision emerges as a key focus for global financial and industrial sectors, all eyes are on the message Jerome Powell, Chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed), will deliver in his public speech on the 22nd (local time).

Powell is scheduled to speak at the annual central bankers' gathering, the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium, held at a resort in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

The Financial Times (FT) reported on the 20th that while Powell's speeches at the Jackson Hole meeting are always "high-stakes moments," this year he faces particular saturation from all sides as he takes the podium.

Firstly, externally, there is a barrage of criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump.

For months, President Trump has consistently demanded interest rate cuts and publicly referred to Powell, who has resisted, with terms like "stubborn mule" and "idiot."

President Trump recently also gained an opportunity to sow seeds of discord within the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), which decides the benchmark interest rate. A Fed governor is stepping down about six months earlier than scheduled, and this position is to be filled by a loyalist.

This is Stephen Moore, Chairman of the White House National Economic Council, who has sympathized with President Trump's calls for interest rate cuts. President Trump recently nominated Moore as a Fed governor.

The newspaper reported that securities analysts anticipate something akin to fireworks within the usually dull Fed.

Stephen Blitz, an economist at TS Lombard, said, "Moore is not someone who will be trapped or overwhelmed by the traditions within the Fed," adding, "He will be a government mole representing Trump on the FOMC."

Exterior view of the Jackson Lake Lodge in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where the 'Jackson Hole Meeting' is held. Yonhap News. 

The FT pointed out that these circumstances will make Powell's task in his Jackson Hole speech, which the market will scrutinize meticulously, more complex than usual.

Moore is not the only obstacle for Powell. Christopher Waller, a Fed governor who was considered a candidate for the next Fed chair, and Michelle Bowman, a Fed vice chair, who were reviewed by the U.S. Treasury Department, dissented in last month's FOMC meeting, voting for an interest rate cut.

If nominee Moore is confirmed by the Senate, Powell will have to contend with these two, along with one other internal dissenter, totaling three opposing voices among the seven members of the Fed Board of Governors at the FOMC meeting scheduled for the 16th-17th of next month.

The FT diagnosed that a division of this magnitude is the first since 1988, and President Trump and his supporters will use it as evidence that Powell is losing control.

Mixed economic indicators further exacerbate Powell's dilemma. Signals of a weakening labor market and signs of rising inflation are simultaneously appearing, making it difficult for the Fed to balance its dual mandate of maximum employment and price stability.

Torsten Slok of Apollo Global Management said that Trump's tariffs have created "stagflationary impulses," dramatically complicating the Fed's mission.

The July employment report released earlier this month raised concerns that the labor market is weakening, significantly tilting the scales towards a rate cut in the next policy rate decision.

However, the July Producer Price Index (PPI) released on the 14th showed a 0.9% increase, significantly higher than the market's expectation of 0.2%, once again adding weight to the argument for a rate freeze.

According to CME's FedWatch Tool, the federal funds rate futures market reflected a 99.9% probability of a 25 basis point rate cut next month on the 13th, but lowered the expectation to 84.8% on the 19th.

Gennadiy Goldberg of TD Securities said, "The market wants some confirmation (through the Jackson Hole speech) regarding whether Powell is open to a rate cut."

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