Fed cuts interest rates by half point, signals two additional cuts this year

The Federal Reserve slashed interest rates by a half percentage point Wednesday and charted a course for two additional cuts this year followed by four more in 2025.

The action marks the Fed’s first easing of monetary policy since 2020 and the termination of its most aggressive inflation-fighting campaign since the 1980s.

The decision came in a split vote at the conclusion of the Fed’s two-day policy meeting as officials cut the central bank’s benchmark rate by 50 basis points to a new range of 4.75%-5.0%.

Rates had previously been held at a 23-year high since July 2023.

 

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