Median forecasts show they now expect the Fed to cut rates by 25 basis points by its Sept. 18 meeting to 5.0 percent and to follow with another, bringing them to 4.75 percent by year-end.
Forty-five of 63 say the Fed will trim the funds rate by Sept. 18, with six of those saying they will cut before and 18 saying they will stay on hold.
Thirty-four economists see a quarter percentage point of easing by then, nine say 50 basis points and two thought the funds rate will be 75 basis points lower by Sept 18.
Economists saw the European Central Bank holding rates at 4.0 percent on Sept .6 -- 34 of 65 were making that call, compared with only two of 65 just a few weeks ago, with medians showing 4.25 percent as the peak in rates.
However, the poll was taken before the ECB said on Wednesday that its rate policy stance was given by President Jean-Claude Trichet on Aug. 2. Then, he used the words "strong vigilance" -- well-known codewords for a rate rise the following month.
As for the Bank of England, hawkish bets that rates would climb to 6.0 percent, which had already dwindled to only a small majority before the recent market turmoil began, are now off the table and rates are seen on hold at 5.75 percent. Fifty of 53 see no move in U.K. rates in September.
Many economists are concerned, like the Fed, about the credit logjam's potential drag on the economy, although most are having difficulty quantifying it. Some have simply reverted to forecasts earlier this year which they had abandoned as it became clear the Fed had no intention of easing.
"Right now this is a liquidity problem," said Christopher Wiegand, economist at Citi in New York. "But it could evolve into a very conventional easing cycle."