Fed Expected to Deliver First Rate Cut Since Last December

‘A 0.25% rate cut now seems all but guaranteed, but it may be delivered through gritted teeth,’ says one market analyst.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testifies before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on Capitol Hill in Washington on Feb. 11, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

The Federal Reserve is overwhelmingly expected to pull the trigger on an interest rate cut when it concludes its Sept. 16-17 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) policy meeting.

New CME FedWatch Tool data show that investors have penciled in a 96 percent chance of a quarter-point reduction to the benchmark federal funds rate—a key policy rate that influences borrowing costs for businesses, consumers, and governments—from the current target range of 4.25 percent to 4.5 percent.