UPDATE 2:25 p.m. ET — The Federal Reserve announced that it will cut rates by a quarter point, marking its second cut this year.
The Fed shared in a statement that the economy has continued to grow at a "solid pace."
However, the Fed noted that it still sees inflation as "somewhat elevated," though it is still "sustainably" moving towards its 2% goal.
Original Story — The Federal Reserve is expected to cut rates for the second time this year today, as inflation remains at a steady pace and the economy continues to move in the right direction.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell is expected to not only reduce the bank’s key interest rates but also look ahead, as he will now have a shifting economy with the addition of President-Elect Donald Trump and his new policies.
However, experts don’t yet know what Powell or his colleagues will do with Trump’s victory and don’t expect to know soon, according to the head of global policy and central bank strategy at Evercore ISI, Krishna Guha.
“We think Powell will refuse to give any early judgment on the implications of the election for the economy and rates and will seek to be a source of stability and calm,” Guha told CNBC before the election.
As for what the central bank is expected to do on Thursday, forecasts from economists reported on by FactSet suggest that a quarter-point cut is the most likely, especially after the half-point cut in September.
This move would bring the federal funds rate down to 4.5%-4.75%.
Inflation was down to 2.1% last month, just north of the Fed’s 2% goal after it hit a 40-year high during the pandemic.
But the move from the Fed today may not be felt for some time. CBS Money Watch spoke with LendingTree chief credit analyst Matt Schulz, who said that it’s going to take a few more cuts until the average person notices.
“Once a few more cuts happen over the next few months, the impact will add up to something that moves the needle for the average person struggling with debt,” Schulz said. “For now, however, the effect of these cuts won’t be very noticeable.”
The future of the Federal Reserve is murky at the moment, as a shake-up from President-Elect Trump is expected to happen sometime over the next four years.
In August, Trump said in a press conference that he felt the White House should have some say in the bank’s decisions despite being independent as a government agency for over 70 years.
“I feel the president should have at least a say in there. I feel that strongly,” Trump said at the time. “I made a lot of money. I was very successful. And I think I have a better instinct than, in many cases, people that would be on the Federal Reserve — or the chairman.”
Ahead of the decision from the Fed, US stocks opened with a small gain. The Dow rose by 0.07% and the S&P went up 0.4%. The Nasdaq Composite also saw a gain of 0.7% on Thursday morning.
Stocks also saw a major rally on Wednesday after Trump secured the necessary votes to win back the White House.