Federal Reserve officials cut interest rates on Thursday, their second reduction of 2024 and the latest sign that policymakers believe that inflation is finally coming under control.
The Fed’s move comes just days after America elected Donald J. Trump as its next president, and at a moment when the U.S. economy stands on the brink of change.
Growth had already been stronger than many economists had expected. And now, the policies Mr. Trump pledged from the campaign trail could shake up the economy and risk further inflation — though it is unclear which ones will come to fruition.
Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, suggested during a news conference on Thursday afternoon that officials would be watching economic data as they weighed whether to make a final rate cut of 2024 at their next meeting in December.
He also emphasized — repeatedly — that the Fed’s immediate path would not be affected by Mr. Trump’s win and policy plans.
“In the near term, the election will have no effects on our policy decisions,” Mr. Powell said, adding that it was impossible at such an “early stage” to model what the policies would be or what they would mean for the economy. “We don’t guess, we don’t speculate, and we don’t assume.”
We are having trouble retrieving the article content.
Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.fafa191 slot