US Fed continues to ease monetary policy by lowering interest rates by 25 basis points

The US Federal Reserve has cut the policy interest rate by 25 basis points intending to support economic stability.The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) has lowered the target federal funds rate to between 4.5 and 4.75 percent. The action reflects the Fed's commitment to encouraging sustainable economic growth and bringing inflation closer to its long-term 2 percent target, said Fed Chairman Jerome Powell.

"Today the FOMC decided to take another step in reducing the degree of policy restraint by lowering our policy interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point," Powell said. "We continue to believe that with an appropriate recalibration of our policy stance, strength in the economy and labor market can be maintained and inflation can be brought down to 2 percent sustainably. We have also decided to continue to reduce our safety nets," he added.

Recent readings confirm a strong economic expansion, corrective with improvement in the labor market, steady with only some restraint. The unemployment rate has risen modestly and is still standing at relatively low percentages, thereby indicating a generally healthy job market in the United States. Inflation, though improved, has not reached the Fed's target yet, indicative that the central bank is trying to balance delicately when adjusting its monetary policy.