Federal Reserve Lowers Interest Rates

The economy is strong overall and has made significant progress toward our goals over the past two years. The labor market has cooled from its formerly overheated state and remains solid. Inflation has eased substantially from a peak of 7 percent to 2.1 percent as of September. We are committed to maintaining our economy’s strength by supporting maximum employment and returning inflation to our 2 percent goal. Today, the F.O.M.C. decided to take another step in reducing the degree of policy restraint by lowering our policy interest rate by a quarter percentage point. We continue to be confident that with an appropriate recalibration of our policy stance, strength in the economy and the labor market can be maintained, with inflation moving sustainably down to 2 percent. In the near term, the election will have no effects on our policy decisions.