The US Federal Reserve (Fed) cut interest rates by 50 basis points on Wednesday, amid easing inflation and a weakening jobs market, marking its first rate cut in more than four years.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) — The U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 50 basis points on Wednesday amid easing inflation and a weakening jobs market, marking its first rate cut in more than four years.
“The Committee has gained greater confidence that inflation is sustainably moving toward the 2 percent target and believes that risks to achieving the employment and inflation goals are broadly balanced,” the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the central bank’s policymaking body, said in a statement.
“In light of the progress made on inflation and the balance of risks, the Committee decided to lower its target range for policy rates by one-half percentage point, to between 4.75% and 5%,” the FOMC said.
The move marks the beginning of a cycle of easing. Since March 2022, the Fed has raised rates 11 times in a row to combat inflation at a rate not seen in forty years, taking its federal policy rate to a range of 5.25% to 5.5%, its highest level in more than two decades.
After keeping rates at this high level for more than a year, this tight monetary policy has come under pressure, due to the easing of inflationary pressures, signs of weakening in the jobs market and slowing economic growth.■
 Fed cuts rates by 50 basis points, first rate cut in four years – Xinhua){kind=link}