US Fed cuts interest rate for the 3rd time this year

The US Federal Reserve has slashed interest rates for the third consecutive time, with the Federal Open Market Committee voting to reduce the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to a target range of between 1.5% to 1.75%.

The FOMC statement justified the need for another cut by pointing to business fixed investment and exports that appear to “remain weak.”

The statement also notably removed language promising to “act as appropriate to sustain the expansion,” a phrase commonly used by Fed officials after it pivoted from the steady rate hikes of 2018 to the rate cuts in July and September.

The Fed now says it will “continue to monitor implications of incoming information for the economic outlook” in considering future moves.

Two FOMC voters, Kansas City Fed President Esther George and Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren, dissented from the decision. Both dissented against the July and September decisions to cut rates as well.

The statement was otherwise mostly unchanged from September. The Fed continued to describe the labor market as “strong,” as the September jobs report saw the unemployment rate fall to 3.5%.–Yahoo Finance