US Fed FOMC Meeting Live Updates (October 29, 2025): The US Federal Reserve is expected to announce its latest interest rate decision today as the two-day Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting concludes. Markets are widely anticipating a 25 basis point rate cut, which would bring the Fed funds rate down to the 3.75%–4.00% range.
In its previous September 2025 policy, the Fed also cut rates by 25 bps to 4.00%–4.25% and signalled a data-dependent approach for further easing. Investors, economists, and global markets are closely tracking Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s policy statement and press conference for cues on inflation, growth, and the future path of US monetary policy.
This week’s meeting is occurring under typical circumstances. Since October 1, the federal government has been in a shutdown following Congress’s failure to approve new funding measures. Consequently, the release of several key macroeconomic indicators the Fed relies on for policy decisions has been halted, including the September employment report and multiple weekly Initial Jobless Claims updates.
Meanwhile, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for September, originally slated for release on October 15, was delayed until October 24. The data showed that both the headline CPI and the core CPI increased by 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively, coming in below analysts’ expectations.
US Fed FOMC Meeting Live Updates: Check Live Coverage on US Fed Rate Cut, Interest Rate Cut Decision Today
US Fed FOMC Meeting Live Updates: US yields marginally higher
US Treasury yields were largely steady to slightly higher on Wednesday, as investors remained cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy decision, seeking more clarity on the central bank's path for interest rate cuts through the remainder of this year and into 2026. The Fed is widely expected to lower its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points at the conclusion of its two-day meeting later on Wednesday.
US Fed FOMC Meeting Live Updates: Trump slams Powell again
In the hours leading to the Fed announcement, Trump criticised the Federal Reserve again, targeting Powell for what he views as delays in lowering interest rates. Speaking at the APEC CEO Summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, Trump referred to Powell as “Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell."
US Fed FOMC Meeting Live Updates: What happened in September Fed announcement?
Federal Reserve delivered its first interest rate cut since December 2024 in its September 2025 policy decision and the first since President Donald Trump returned to the White House earlier this year.
“The committee decided to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 1/4 percentage point to 4 to 4-1/4 per cent. In considering additional adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate, the committee will carefully assess incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks,” the Fed said in its announcement.
US Fed FOMC Meeting Live Updates: Possible reason for rate cut
One major factor motivating officials to consider rate cuts is growing concern about the labour market. Even without fresh data, there are clear indications that inflation is easing, while layoffs based on state-level jobless claims, which continue to be reported despite the federal shutdown, have not shown signs of accelerating.
US Fed FOMC Meeting Live Updates: When will the rates be announced ?
The Federal Reserve is scheduled to announce its benchmark policy decision at 2 p.m. ET in the United States. For those following the event from India, the announcement will be available on the Fed’s official website at 11:30 p.m. IST on Wednesday, October 29, 2025.
US Fed FOMC Meeting Live Updates: Economist on Fed rate cut
“We expect Chair Powell to mention the lack of official data due to the government shutdown. We think he will say that the outlook for employment and inflation does not appear to have changed much since the September meeting," explains Marc Giannoni, chief US economist at Barclays.
US Fed FOMC Meeting Live Updates: Wall Street opens higher as investors await Fed rate cut decision
Wall Street opened higher on Wednesday as investors await the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision. The Fed is widely expected to cut rates by 25 basis points, bringing the benchmark range down to 3.75%–4%. In early hours of trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 302.99 points (0.63%) to 48008.06, the S&P 500 added 24.79 points (0.36%) to 6915.15, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 150.33 points (0.63%) to 23973.03.
US Fed FOMC Meeting Live Updates: First Fed meeting without employment data
For the first time since the Fed’s rate-setting committee was formed in the 1930s, officials will decide on interest rates without access to a full month of key government employment data.
Jigar Trivedi, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities says, “Despite the expectation of a cut, the Fed is signalling caution: it consistently emphasizes ‘meeting-by-meeting’ data dependence, and some officials remain wary about cutting too fast given inflation risks.
Market expectations are very high for the cut and for multiple cuts this year; if the Fed disappoints, by cutting less or signalling fewer cuts, markets could react negatively in equities, bonds, risk assets."
Jerome Powell’s press conference will be live-streamed on the US Federal Reserve’s official website at https://www.federalreserve.gov/.
In addition to the website, viewers can watch Powell’s speech on the Federal Reserve’s official YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/federalreserve.
US Fed FOMC Meeting Live Updates: Current Fed rates
The current Federal Reserve interest rate is between 4% and 4.25%. The Fed is widely expected to cut this rate by 25bps, which would bring the target range down to 3.75%–4.00%.