Federal Reserve Cuts Its Key Interest Rate by a Quarter-Point Amid Post-Election Uncertainty

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve cut its key rate by a quarter-point in response to the steady decline in the once-high inflation that had angered Americans and helped drive Donald Trump’s presidential election victory this week. The rate cut follows a larger half-point reduction in September, and it reflects the Fed’s renewed focus on supporting the job market as well as fighting inflation, which now barely exceeds the central bank’s 2% target. Annual inflation has since fallen from a 9.1% peak in 2022 to a 3 1/2-year low of 2.4%. Asked how Trump’s election might affect the Fed’s policymaking, Chair Jerome Powell said that “in the near term, the election will have no effects on our [interest rate] decisions.”