WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve on Wednesday voted to drop the benchmark interest rate by a quarter point as the U.S. continues to struggle with inflation, a flagging labor market and a government shutdown.
In a statement, the central bank said available indicators suggested economic activity has been expanding at a moderate pace, but job gains have slowed this year, and the unemployment rate has edged up. Inflation has also moved up since earlier in the year and remains somewhat elevated.
The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) said it wants to achieve “maximum employment and inflation” at the rate of 2% percent over the longer run, but uncertainty about the economic outlook remains elevated.