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FED officials unanimously lowered the federal funds rate by 25 bps to a range of 4.5% to 4.75%. This second consecutive rate cut followed a larger half-point reduction in September, continuing efforts to keep the US economic expansion on solid footing.
In its press release, the FED highlighted that “this further recalibration of its policy stance will help maintain the strength of the economy and the labour market and will continue to enable further progress on inflation as it move toward a more neutral stance over time.
Regarding the impact of a new administration on monetary policy, Powell stated, ‘We don’t know what the timing and substance of any policy changes will be. We therefore don’t know what the effects on the economy would be, specifically whether and to what extent those policies would matter for the achievement of our goal variables: maximum employment and price stability.
The Federal Open Market Committee stated that it continues to see the risks to achieving its employment and inflation goals as ‘roughly balanced’.
The committee slightly adjusted its language regarding the job market as well. ‘Since earlier in the year, labor market conditions have generally eased, and the unemployment rate has risen but remains low,’ the FED statement said. Powell described the labor market as ‘solid.’
Regarding quantitative tightening, the FED’s process of allowing bond holdings to roll off its balance sheet without fully replacing them, Powell added during the press conference, ‘We are not considering stopping the runoff just because the FED is now cutting rates.’
FED Balance Sheet (blue line); US Unemployment Rate (red line); Correlation & US Recessions.
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