The Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the third time this year to help sustain U.S. growth despite a slowdown in other parts of the world, but signalled no further reductions ahead unless the economy takes a turn for the worse.
“We believe that monetary policy is in a good place,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in a news conference after the U.S. central bank announced its decision to cut its key overnight lending rate by a quarter of a percentage point to a target range of between 1.5% and 1.75%.
“We took this step to help keep the economy strong in the face of global developments and to provide some insurance against ongoing risks,” he said. The rate cut was widely anticipated by financial markets.
