Federal Reserve cuts interest rates by additional 0.25%

By Staff Report, posted Dec 19, 2024 on BizFayetteville.com

Chair Powell answers reporters' questions at the FOMC press conference on December 18, 2024.

The Federal Reserve Board has announced it will be further cutting interest rates by an additional 0.25% following a meeting held on Dec. 18. This is the third cut to the interest rates in 2024.

According to a statement issued by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), recent indicators suggest that economic activity has continued to expand at a solid pace. Since earlier in the year, labor market conditions have generally eased and the unemployment rate has moved up but remains low. Inflation has made progress toward the Committee's 2% objective but remains somewhat elevated.

“In our Summary of Economic Projections, FOMC participants wrote down their individual assessments of an appropriate path for the federal funds rate, based on what each participant judges to be the most likely scenario going forward. The median participant projects that the appropriate level of the federal funds rate will be 3.9% at the end of next year and 3.4% at the end of 2026,” said Chairman of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell during a press conference.

The Committee seeks to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2% over the longer run. The Committee judges that the risks to achieving its employment and inflation goals are roughly in balance. The economic outlook is uncertain, and the Committee is attentive to the risks to both sides of its dual mandate.

In support of its goals, the Committee decided to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 1/4 percentage point to 4.25 to 4.5. In considering the extent and timing of additional adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate, the Committee will carefully assess incoming data, the evolving outlook and the balance of risks. The Committee will continue reducing its holdings of Treasury securities and agency debt and agency mortgage‑backed securities. The Committee is strongly committed to supporting maximum employment and returning inflation to its 2% objective.

“We have been moving policy toward a more neutral setting in order to maintain the strength of the economy and the labor market while enabling further progress on inflation. With today’s action, we have lowered our policy rate by a full percentage point from its peak, and our policy stance is now significantly less restrictive. We can therefore be more cautious as we consider further adjustments to our policy rate,” continued Powell.

In assessing the appropriate stance of monetary policy, the Committee will continue to monitor the implications of incoming information for the economic outlook. The Committee would be prepared to adjust the stance of monetary policy as appropriate if risks emerge that could impede the attainment of the Committee's goals. The Committee's assessments will take into account a wide range of information, including readings on labor market conditions, inflation pressures and inflation expectations and financial and international developments.

“As the economy evolves, monetary policy will adjust in order to best promote our

maximum employment and price stability goals,” continued Powell.” If the economy remains strong and inflation does not continue to move sustainably toward 2, we can dial back policy restraint more slowly. If the labor market were to weaken unexpectedly or inflation were to fall more quickly than anticipated, we can ease policy more quickly. Policy is well positioned to deal with the risks and uncertainties that we face in pursuing both sides of our dual mandate.”

Voting for the monetary policy action were Jerome H. Powell, Chair; John C. Williams, Vice Chair; Thomas I. Barkin; Michael S. Barr; Raphael W. Bostic; Michelle W. Bowman; Lisa D. Cook; Mary C. Daly; Philip N. Jefferson; Adriana D. Kugler; and Christopher J. Waller. Voting against the action was Beth M. Hammack, who preferred to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 4.5 to 4.75%.

See the full FOMC press conference here.

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