US Fed FOMC Meeting Highlights: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell cautioned investors not to expect another interest rate cut in December, saying it is “not a foregone conclusion”, adding that the members of the Committee have strong and differing opinions on how to proceed next month.
Why the uncertainty?
Due to the ongoing shutdown of the US federal government, some key economic data has not been collected. As a result, the Federal Reserve is relying on private sources to understand the state of the economy. Powell hinted that the uncertainty and lack of complete data could affect the decision in December.
His remarks came after the Federal Open Market Committee voted 10-2 to cut the target range for the federal funds rate by a quarter percentage point, bringing it down to 3.75%-4%. This marked the second consecutive rate cut. However, for the first time in six years, there were disagreements in both directions as one official pushed for a bigger cut, while another wanted to leave rates unchanged.
‘Not a foregone conclusion,’ says Powell
Powell used his opening statement at the post-meeting press conference to stress that another rate cut in December is not certain. “A further reduction in the policy rate at the December meeting is not a foregone conclusion — far from it,” Powell said. Later, while answering questions from reporters, he added that there was “a growing chorus now of feeling like maybe we this is where we should at least wait a cycle” before making another move.
Fed announces 25bps interest rate cut to a range of 3.75%-4.00%
The Federal Reserve announced a 25bps interest rate cut to a range of 3.75%–4.00% following its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday, 29 October 2025. The US central bank also indicated that it will focus on the balance of risks in the economy, alongside the evolving outlook and incoming data, to guide future decisions on the key interest rates. The rate cut comes amid elevated consumer inflation, with the CPI rising to 3% for the 12 months ending September 2025, up from 2.9% in August.
Experts had anticipated the Fed would implement another 25-basis-point cut to support US economic growth, despite “somewhat elevated” inflation and ongoing weakness in the labour market. “In support of its goals and in light of the shift in the balance of risks, the Committee decided to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 1/4 percentage point to 3-3/4 to 4 per cent,” said the US Fed’s FOMC in its official statement.
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.
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: 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%.