LIVE Updates for the US Fed Meeting: After its two-day meeting on December 18, the US Federal Reserve is expected to reduce its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points. The federal funds rate would be lowered for the third time in a row, from its current range of 4.5% to 4.75% to a target range of 4.25% to 4.5%.
LIVE Updates on the US Fed Meeting: In addition to lowering its benchmark interest rate by a quarter-point on Wednesday, the US Federal Reserve indicated that it anticipates lowering rates more slowly than it had initially anticipated next year due in large part to the country’s continuing high inflation rate. This is the third rate decrease this year.
LIVE Updates on the US Fed Meeting: The US Federal Reserve lowered its benchmark interest rate by a quarter-point on Wednesday, marking its third rate cut of the year. However, the Fed also hinted that it will lower rates more gradually than it had first planned for the following year, mostly due to the fact that inflation is still high.
Fed officials have emphasized that they are reducing rates more slowly as their benchmark rate approaches what economists call a “neutral” rate, which is the amount that is believed to neither help nor hurt the economy.
Policymakers might believe that they are not far from that level, according to Wednesday’s predictions. Wednesday’s action, which comes after a sharp half-point decline in September and a quarter-point fall last month, puts their benchmark rate at 4.3%.
“We’re going to be looking for progress on inflation as we think about further cuts,” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell stated during his post-announcement press conference. “On the 12-month inflation chart, we have been trending lower.”
“The (Fed’s) inflation and unemployment forecasts were hawkish, reflecting recent stronger data, and the dot-plot now sees just two cuts in 2025,” she continued. “We anticipate that the Fed will choose to forego a rate cut in January and instead begin its easing cycle in March.”
