The US Central Bank Cuts Interest Rates a Quarter Percentage Point to a Target Range of 1.50-1.75 Percent

30 October 2019

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates on Wednesday for the third time this year in a move aimed at protecting the US economy from the fallout of the global trade war and averting a recession, but signaled a possible halt in the monetary easing cycle.

In cutting its key interest rate by a quarter percentage point to a target range of 1.50-1.75 percent, the US central bank dropped a previous signal in its policy statement that it would “move appropriately” to sustain economic growth - a hint of future rate cuts.

Instead, the Federal said it would “monitor the implications of the information on the economic outlook in assessing the appropriate course” of the target interest rate, in a less conclusive statement.

(Reuters)