Highlights: US Fed's focus moves from inflation to jobs as it makes first rate cut of 2025
The Federal Reserve announced a quarter-point interest rate cut and signalled it could enact two more cuts this year.
US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell speaks at a news conference at the Federal Reserve headquarters, following the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in Washington, DC, on Sep 17, 2025. (Photo: AFP/Jim WATSON)
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The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday (Sep 17) made a widely expected interest rate cut of 25 basis points, as the central bank's focus shifted from inflation to jobs.
“It’s really the risks that we’re seeing to the labour market that were the focus of today’s decision," Fed chair Jerome Powell said at a press conference following the Fed's two-day meeting.
The reduction puts rates in a range of 4 per cent to 4.25 per cent, the lowest level since late 2022.
Fed officials, in a set of projections also released on Wednesday, signalled that they expect to reduce their key rate twice more this year, but just once in 2026. Catch up on our live coverage.
