The US Federal Reserve has cut interest rates for the second time in a row and reduced them by 0.25 percent. After keeping interest rates stable for four consecutive years, when the Fed Chairman reduced the key rates by 0.50 percent in September, it was considered a benchmark decision. The US Fed Chairman's Federal Open Market Committee i.e. FOMC has unanimously reduced the benchmark interest rates by 35 bps or 0.25 percent and they have come in the range of 4.50 - 4.75 percent. This decision was taken under the policy decisions of the seventh meeting of the year 2024.
What did Fed Chairman Jerome Powell say?
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said that the unemployment rate in the US has been much higher than last year and but it has remained in a limited range during the last three months. Apart from this, there has been satisfaction about inflation rates that it has remained around the FOMC's range of 2 percent. Although the core inflation figures have been high, but the Fed has the option of reducing interest rates at this time, so this step is being taken forward.
What did the Fed Chairman say about the US election?
Regarding the US election, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell clearly said that the US presidential election has no effect on the policy decisions of the Federal Reserve. FAOMC is working on policy decisions as per its earlier policy tradition and the current situation of the US. The FAOMC Committee has decided that it will reduce the target range set for federal funds by a quarter and take it from 4-1/2 to 4-3/4 percent. This information has been given in the november 2024 policy statement. It also said that FAOMC is able to see that the financial signals coming from the US economy clearly show that it is expanding at a good pace and through good mediums and is meeting the standards.
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