The US Federal Reserve Meets Expectations and Cuts Interest Rates by 25 Basis Points

SadaNews - The Federal Reserve (the US central bank) has lowered the overnight interest rate to a range of 3.75% - 4.00%. The bank indicated that the risks of declining employment have increased in recent months.

The vote to approve this reduction was 10 in favor and 2 against, with Federal Governor Stephen Moore favoring a half-point cut, while the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Esther George, preferred no cut.

This marks the second cut in US interest rates in two consecutive months, following a reduction in September to 4% and 4.25%.

The Federal Reserve confirmed that available indicators suggest the economic activity is expanding at a moderate pace, and job gains have slowed this year, while the unemployment rate has increased slightly but remained low until August. The latest indicators are consistent with these developments.

While inflation has been trending upward since earlier this year and remains somewhat high, the Monetary Policy Committee has stated that it is attentive to the risks on both sides of its dual mandate, ruling that the risks of declining employment have increased.

This meeting comes in the absence of any data that would allow Federal members to review the actual state of the economy, as the collection and publication of official figures have been halted due to major economic shutdowns, including the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Bureau of Economic Analysis, most of their operations due to the government shutdown.

The Consumer Price Index, which was scheduled to be released on October 15, was issued on October 24, while the monthly government jobs report and retail sales figures have been postponed indefinitely.