@cspanofficial: The Federal Reserve on Wednesday cut interest rates for the first time since March 2020, signaling that central bankers believe they are winning the fight against inflation. The half-percentage-point cut brings the target range for the federal funds rate down to 4.75–5%. Central bankers also signaled a more aggressive pace of rate cuts than previously expected, projecting another half point in reductions before the end of the year. The move ushers in a new era of monetary policy in which the Fed views a softening labor market as a greater risk than elevated inflation. “Inflation is now much closer to our objective, and we have gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2%,” Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in a press conference. “As inflation has declined and the labor market has cooled, the upside risks to inflation have diminished and the downside risks to employment have increased. We now see the risks to achieving our employment and inflation goals as roughly in balance.” The median Fed official now projects inflation to come in a 2.3% for 2024 and 2.1% for 2025, slightly above the Fed’s 2% target. They also project the unemployment rate to sit at 4.4% in the final quarter of the year and remain around that level through 2025. #federalreserve #thefed #jeromepowell #interestrates #inflation #unemployment #cspan

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Wednesday 18 September 2024 19:53:30 GMT