美联储周三下调基准利率0.25个百分点，选择今年第三次降息，以重振低迷的劳动力市场。
利率下调可能会让抵押贷款和信用卡借款人松一口气。
美联储的基准利率在3.5%至3.75%之间。这一数字标志着从2023年达到的近期峰值大幅下降，但借贷成本仍远高于新冠肺炎疫情开始时设定的0%利率。
美联储主席杰罗姆·鲍威尔(Jerome Powell)周三在华盛顿特区的新闻发布会上发表讲话，称降息是改善劳动力市场的努力，但他暗示央行可能对进一步降息持谨慎态度。
“我们已经做好准备，静观经济如何发展，”鲍威尔说。
美联储的高级官员显示的在最近的利率决定之前的几周，公众意见出现了罕见的分歧。美联储决策机构联邦公开市场委员会(Federal Open Market Committee)12名有投票权的成员中，有3名反对降息25个基点，这是自2019年以来反对人数最多的一次。
最近几个月，随着招聘放缓，通胀有所抬头，这带来了被称为“双重经济打击”的风险滞胀."
美联储陷入了困境，因为央行必须平衡控制通胀和最大化就业的双重任务。为了应对这两个目标的压力，美联储主要使用一个工具:利率。
鲍威尔说，美联储双重使命的压力给央行带来了“挑战性的局面”。
鲍威尔补充说:“在我们处理就业和通胀目标之间的紧张关系时，没有无风险的政策路径。”
如果美联储将利率保持稳定作为防范关税引发的通胀的一种手段，就有可能导致劳动力市场进一步放缓。另一方面，通过降低利率来刺激就业，美联储可能会刺激支出，加剧通胀。
期货市场显示，最近，随着一些有影响力的央行行长表示对降息持开放态度，市场情绪转向支持降息。
数据显示，在利率决定前几个小时，降息25个基点的可能性接近90%，较上月30%的低水平大幅上升CME FedWatch工具，衡量市场情绪的指标。
前景似乎是对模糊的就业报告和鲍威尔在负责设定利率的委员会中的两个盟友的公开声明做出的回应。
上个月，9月份的就业报告发出了关于劳动力市场的混合信号。雇主增加9月份的工人数量远远超过预期，尽管招聘并没有达到惊人的速度。与此同时，失业率上升至4.4%，按历史标准来看是一个较低的数字，但却是自2021年10月以来的最高纪录。
通常与鲍尔步调一致的纽约联邦储备银行总裁约翰·威廉姆斯，几天后表示对降息持开放态度，他告诉记者，他仍认为“短期内有进一步调整的空间”
此后不久，旧金山联邦储备银行行长玛丽·戴利(Mary Daly)采取了类似的立场，她告诉记者，她认为“近期内”还有进一步调整的空间。戴利今年不会就利率问题投票，他被广泛认为是鲍威尔的支持者。
Fed cuts interest rates for 3rd time this year in effort to boost hiring
The Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday, opting for its third interest rate cut this year in an effort to revive a sluggish labor market.
The reduction of interest rates could deliver some relief for mortgage and credit card borrowers.
The Fed’s benchmark rate stands between 3.5% and 3.75%. That figure marks a significant drop from a recent peak attained in 2023, but borrowing costs remain well above a 0% rate established at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking at a press conference in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell touted the rate cut as an effort to improve the labor market, but he suggested the central bank may be cautious about further rate reductions.
"We're well positioned to wait and see how the economy evolves," Powell said.
Top officials at the Federal Reservedisplayeda rare degree of public disagreement over the weeks leading up to the latest rate decision. Three of the 12 voting members on the Federal Open Market Committee -- a policymaking body at the Fed -- dissented from the quarter-point rate cut, the highest number of dissenters since 2019.
Inflation has picked up in recent months alongside the hiring slowdown, posing a risk of an economic double-whammy known as "stagflation."
The Fed is stuck in a bind, since the central bank must balance a dual mandate to keep inflation under control and maximize employment. To address pressure on both of its goals, the Fed primarily holds a single tool: interest rates.
The pressure on both sides of the Fed's dual mandate present a "challenging situation" for the central bank, Powell said.
"There's no risk-free path for policy as we navigate this tension between our employment and inflation goals," Powell added.
If the Fed had held interest rates steady as a means of protecting against tariff-induced inflation, it risked a deeper slowdown of the labor market. On the other hand, by lowering rates to stimulate hiring, the Fed threatens to boost spending and worsen inflation.
Lately, sentiment shifted in favor of a rate cut as some influential central bankers voiced openness toward the move, futures markets showed.
Hours before the rate decision, the odds of a quarter-point interest rate cut stood at nearly 90%, surging from a level as low as 30% last month, according toCME FedWatch Tool, a measure of market sentiment.
The prospects appeared to move in response to a murky jobs report and public statements from two allies of Powell on the committee charged with setting rates.
Last month, a jobs report for September sent mixed signals about the labor market. Employersaddedfar more workers than expected in September, though hiring fell short of a breakneck clip. Meanwhile the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.4%, a low figure by historical standards but the highest recorded since October 2021.
New York Fed President John Williams, who is often in lockstep with Powell, days later voiced openness toward a rate cut, telling reporters he still saw “room for a further adjustment in the near term.”
Soon afterward, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly took a similar position, telling reporters she sees room “for a further adjustment in the near term.” Daley, who isn’t voting on interest rates this year, is widely viewed as a supporter of Powell.
