The decisions was announced after a meeting of the Fed’s governing board
As expected, the Federal Reserve announced today that it would cut interest rates by a quarter point.
The cut was announced following a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the Fed’s governing body.
“In light of the implications of global developments for the economic outlook as well as muted inflation pressures, the Committee decided to lower the target range for the federal funds rate to 1-3/4 to 2 percent,” the FOMC said in a statement. “This action supports the Committee's view that sustained expansion of economic activity, strong labor market conditions, and inflation near the Committee's symmetric 2 percent objective are the most likely outcomes, but uncertainties about this outlook remain.”
This is the second consecutive rate cut after more than a decade of holding rates steady or raising them. The Fed last cut rates in July.
The cut likely won’t be enough to appease President Donald Trump, who has called for interest rates to be reduced to zero and repeatedly attacked Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. Trump has made no bones about his distaste for the central bank, calling Fed officials “boneheads” in a Sept. 11 tweet.
