The Federal Reserve is kicking off a two-day meeting today to discuss the state of the economy. A major topic for discussion will be the economic impacts of the Trump administration’s tariffs and the potential for a recession due to the ongoing trade war.
At the end of the meeting on Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will announce an interest rate decision. Most financial experts do not expect the Federal Reserve to slash interest rates this month.
President Donald Trump has urged Powell to cut rates, even suggesting that Powell's termination as Fed chair "couldn't come fast enough."
President Trump would not say if he regrets nominating Powell, who became Federal Reserve chair during the president's first term. "The only thing that's going up actually is interest rates because we have a federal reserve chairman that is playing politics," he said. President Trump has since backed off those comments.
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Powell has stated that the Federal Reserve’s goal is to balance keeping unemployment low while managing inflation. Experts believe lower interest rates tend to help employment numbers, but low inflation can drive up the inflation rate.
When interest rates go up, it slows the economy but can also cool inflation.
The Federal Reserve's target range for the federal funds rate remains at 4.25% to 4.50%, which is 1 percentage point lower than this time a year ago, when it was at a 23-year high.
The federal interest rate was nearly 2 percentage points lower at its highest point during President Trump’s first term.
