Fed Lowers Policy Rate by a Quarter Point
The Committee lowered the target range for the federal funds rate by 1/4 percentage point to 4-1/2 to 4-3/4 percent. It will continue reducing its holdings of Treasury securities, agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities. 1
The statement says economic activity has continued to expand at a solid pace. It says the unemployment rate has moved up but remains low, and inflation has made progress toward 2 percent but remains somewhat elevated. 1
The Committee judges the risks to its employment and inflation goals to be roughly in balance. It says it will carefully assess incoming data, the evolving outlook and the balance of risks when considering further adjustments. 1
Chair Powell said inflation has eased from a peak of 7 percent to 2.1 percent as of September. He said GDP rose at an annual rate of 2.8 percent in the third quarter. 1
The minutes report that nominal Treasury yields rose notably over the period. They say the federal funds rate path had shifted up notably, as measured by both the options-implied modal path and the futures-implied average path. 1