The U.S. Federal Reserve lowered its benchmark fed funds rate by 25 basis points to the 4.25%-4.50% range, its third consecutive easing move this year and now marking a total of 100 basis points of rate cuts since September.

Market participants had fully expected Wednesday’s move by the central bank, but recent data had shown continued solid economic growth and perky inflation. This turned the focus today to the policy statement, updated economic projections and the upcoming press conference with Chairman Jerome Powell for clues about the Fed’s thinking on future policy actions.

The Fed’s quarterly economic projections — which include the “dot plot” indicating where the central bank expects the Fed funds rate to land over time — reveal that policymakers expect the Fed funds rate to decline to 3.9% by year-end 2025 or another 50 basis points in rate cuts next year. That’s higher than the 3.4% projected in September, signaling a less dovish monetary policy in 2025. Fed members’ projections for Personal Consumption Expend

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Author: James Van Straten, Krisztian Sandor