Commonwealth Bank of Australia predicts that the Federal Reserve will begin cutting interest rates in May of next year and will lower the benchmark interest rate by 150 basis points by the end of next year to cope with a mild recession in the United States. The bank's currency strategist, Carol Kong, said that we expect the FOMC's interest rate reduction cycle to be more aggressive than the market expects. Currently, the market prices in a reduction of about 90 basis points by the Federal Reserve next year. Kong said that, for now, strong US economic data may reinforce the current soft landing argument and cause the US dollar to continue to rise.