Jerome Powell, Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, is expected to lower the its benchmark interest rate Wednesday by a quarter percentage point for the third time in the past three months.
RELATED: How do Federal Reserve interest rate changes affect your finances? http://bit.ly/36hxam7
The anticipated reduction, to a range of 1.5% to 1.75%, would undo just a third of the Fed’s nine rate hikes from late 2015 through last year. The U.S. central bank is likely to provide some clues to help answer that question after a two-day meeting that ends Wednesday, though it almost certainly will keep its options open and dependent on economic data.
Economists are divided on whether Fed officials will leave the door wide open to another cut at their next meeting in December or hint that they’re inclined to pause.
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