The US Federal Reserve cut interest rates on Wednesday, but suggested it would make fewer rate cuts than expected in 2025 amid questions over its fight to bring down inflation across the world’s largest economy.
Jerome Powell, the Fed chair, said inflation had been “stubborn”, but insisted the central bank believed its rate hikes would continue to erode the pace of price rises.
Wall Street fell sharply, with the S&P 500 closing down almost 3% as investors digested the announcement. The tech-focused Nasdaq composite dropped 3.6%.
Policymakers at the central bank lowered the benchmark federal funds rate by a quarter of a percentage point to a range of between 4.25% and 4.5% in its last rate decision before Donald Trump assumes the presidency in January.
While inflation has fallen dramatically since peaking at its highest rate in a generation two summers ago, it remains higher than the Fed would like – and has increased in recent months.
The wider US economy remains robust, with employers adding an estimated 227,000 jobs in November. But the stickiness of price growth has raised concern over the progress of efforts to bring it down to normal, pre-pandemic levels.
Nevertheless, Powell said he remained optimistic about the US economy. “I think it’s pretty clear we have avoided a recession. I think growth this year has been solid,” Powell told a news conference. “The US economy has been remarkable.”
Americans’ frustration over a surge in prices in recent years has been cited as a key factor behind the election victory of Donald Trump, who repeatedly pledged on the campaign trail to bring them down.
But even the president-elect has since conceded that this pledge – which drew skepticism from many economists – will be no mean feat.
Asked by Time magazine if his presidency would be a failure if prices do not fall, Trump replied: “I don’t think so. Look, they got them up. I’d like to bring them down. It’s hard to bring things down once they’re up. You know, it’s very hard. But I think that they will.”
Trump’s return to the White House puts the Fed on a potentially rocky path. He has repeatedly criticized decisions by the central bank, and his allies have even raised the prospect of curtailing its independence.
Powell, who has endured a strained relationship with the president-elect after his appointment during his first administration, stated last month that he would not resign if asked by Trump to leave the role.
