US Federal Reserve: The US Federal Reserve has cut interest rates for the second consecutive time and reduced them by 0.25 percent. After keeping the 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 or FOMC has unanimously reduced the benchmark interest rates by 35 bps or 0.25 percent and these 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 America has been much higher than last year but it has remained within a limited range during the last three months. Apart from this, there is also satisfaction regarding inflation rates that it has been around the range of 2 percent of FOMC. Although core inflation figures have remained high, the Fed has the option to reduce interest rates at this time, so this step is being taken forward.
What did the Fed Chairman say about the US elections?
Regarding the US elections, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell clearly said that the US presidential election has had no impact on the policy decisions of the Federal Reserve. FAOMC is working on policy decisions in accordance with its past policy tradition and the current situation in the US.
The FAOMC Committee has decided to reduce the target range for federal funds by a quarter, from 4-1/2 to 4-3/4 percent. This information has been given in the policy statement of November 2024. It also says that the FAOMC is able to see that the financial signals being received by the US economy make it clear that its expansion is meeting the standards at a good pace and through good means.
The last time the US Fed reduced rates was on September 18.
Earlier, in the US Fed meeting held on September 18, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell had cut interest rates by 0.50 percent. This decision was historic because interest rates were cut in America after four years. The Federal Reserve did not make any changes in the rates for 4 consecutive years, but in the middle of 2024, it had decided that in the future policy decisions of the FOMC, it will move forward on the idea of reducing interest rates and strengthening the dollar.
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