PANews reported on December 11th that, according to the Securities Times, the Federal Reserve announced a 25 basis point cut to its benchmark interest rate on December 10th, bringing it down from the current 3.75%-4% range to 3.5%-3.75%. This marks the Fed's third consecutive rate cut, bringing the total reduction to 75 basis points. In its statement, the Fed indicated that current indicators show economic activity is expanding at a moderate pace, but job growth has slowed this year, and the unemployment rate rose before September. Recent indicators are consistent with these developments. Notably, significant divisions emerged again among members of the Federal Reserve's Monetary Policy Committee in the vote. This marks the third consecutive time that Fed Governor Milan has voted against the cut, and his term expires in January. Schmid voted against the cut for the second consecutive time. The fact that three members voted against the cut is the first time this has happened since September 2019.
The closely watched "dot plot" of future policy projections shows that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates only once in 2026 and once more in 2027, after which the federal funds rate will reach its long-term target of approximately 3%. These projections are unchanged from the September update, but the chart reflects the internal disagreement within the committee regarding the direction of interest rates. In addition to the interest rate decision, the Federal Reserve also announced that it will resume purchasing Treasury bonds.