Blog

The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday by a quarter-point — its third cut this year — but also signaled that it expects to reduce rates more slowly next year than it previously envisioned, mostly because of still-elevated inflation. The Fed’s 19 policymakers projected that they will cut their benchmark rate by a quarter-point just twice in 2025, down from their estimate in September of four rate cuts.

NEW YORK (Reuters) -U.S. stocks plunged on Wednesday, with all three major indexes posting their biggest daily decline in months, after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point but disappointed some investors with projections that signaled a more cautious path of easing next year. The Fed cut rates by 25 basis points to the 4.25%-4.50% range and its summary of economic projections (SEP) indicated it will make rate cuts totaling a half percentage point by the end of 2025 given the solid labor market and the recent stall in lowering inflation. "If you look at the changes to the statement of economic projection, they really had no choice," said Ellen Hazen, chief market strategist at F.L.Putnam Investment Management in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

U.S. stocks tumbled to one of their worst days of the year after the Federal Reserve hinted Wednesday it may deliver fewer shots of adrenaline for the U.S. economy in 2025 than earlier thought. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1,123 points, or 2.6%, and the Nasdaq composite dropped 3.6%. The Fed said Wednesday it’s cutting its main interest rate for a third time this year, continuing the sharp turnaround begun in September when it started lowering rates from a two-decade high to support the job market.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. central bank lowered interest rates on Wednesday, but Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said more reductions in borrowing costs hinge on further progress in lowering stubbornly high inflation, remarks that showed policymakers are beginning to reckon with the prospects for sweeping economic change under an incoming Trump administration. Powell's explicit - and repeated - references to the need for caution from here jolted Wall Street, sending stocks sharply lower and spurring a dialing back of market estimates of how far borrowing costs are likely to fall over the coming year. "I think we're in a good place, but I think from here it's a new phase and we're going to be cautious about further cuts," Powell said at a press conference following the end of the Fed's latest two-day policy meeting.

The U.S. dollar advanced against its peers on Wednesday, hitting its highest level in two years, after the Federal Reserve delivered a widely expected interest rate cut while also indicating it would slow the pace of its monetary policy easing cycle. The Fed lowered its benchmark policy rate by 25 basis points to the 4.25% to 4.50% range, with officials signaling they would likely pause future rate cuts next year given a stable labor market and inflation. The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes rose 6.1 basis points to 4.446%, hitting a four-week high.

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Futures on the federal funds rate, which measure the cost of unsecured overnight loans between banks, priced in on Wednesday that the Federal Reserve will hold the overnight benchmark rate steady in January, after it lowered rates by 25 basis points at the end of its two-day meeting. Rate futures also factored in about 33 bps in cuts in 2025, down from 49 bps immediately after the Fed statement, LSEG calculations showed. The Fed on Wednesday also released new estimates on rate forecasts, also known as the "dot plot", which called for two quarter-point rate cuts next year.

The reduction by the central bank's Federal Open Market Committee in the benchmark policy rate to the 4.25%-4.50% range was opposed by Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, who preferred to leave the policy rate unchanged. U.S. central bankers now project they will make just two quarter-percentage-point rate reductions by the end of 2025. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at a press conference after the release of the FOMC statement that it's too soon to say what President-elect Donald Trump's proposed economic policies will do to the economy or how that might bear on Fed policies.

The Federal Reserve reduced interest rates by a quarter percentage point Wednesday and scaled back the number of cuts it expects to make next year.

(Bloomberg) -- Gold fell to the lowest price in a month after the Federal Reserve reduced interest rates and forecast less monetary easing for 2025.Most Read from BloombergNYPD Car Chases Are Becoming More Frequent — and More DangerousUS policymakers lowered their benchmark interest rate for a third consecutive time on Wednesday, but reined in the number of cuts they expect in 2025, signaling greater caution over how quickly they can continue reducing borrowing costs.New quarterly forecasts show

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Wednesday it's too soon to say what President-elect Donald Trump's proposed economic policies will do to the economy and how that might bear on the central bank's policy choices. "We need to take our time, not rush” and see what the new president delivers, Powell said, amid economists' expectations that tariffs and deportations favored by Trump are likely to push inflation higher.