Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Photo: canadanews.ca
By Isaac Cohen*
Two days after the elections, in Washington the central bank Open Market Committee concluded a meeting that agreed to lower the federal funds interest rate by 0.25 percent, to a range of between 4.5 and 4.75 percent. This was the second interest rate cut, after a 0.50 percent reduction in September, aimed at continuing to lower inflation, which is approaching the 2 percent objective, with low unemployment, which remains at 4.1 percent.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, at the press conference held after the meeting, said it was “remarkable how well the US economy has been performing with strong growth, a strong labor market, inflation coming down.” At the same press conference, CBS correspondent Kelly O’Grady said, “many average Americans are still not feeling the strength of the economy in their wallets” and asked, “when they might expect relief?” Chairman Powell answered, “we also know that people are still feeling the effects of high prices… and it stays with you because the price level doesn’t come back down… it takes some years of real wage gains for people to feel better… that is what we are trying to create.” Transcript of Chair Powell’s Press Conference November 7, 2024
This may also explain why exit polls on election day revealed that two in three voters called the nation’s economic condition “fair” or “poor,” while three in four said their family’s economic condition was the same or worse than it was four years ago.
*International analyst and consultant, former Director ECLAC Washington. Commentator on economic and financial issues for CNN en Español TV and radio, UNIVISION, TELEMUNDO and other media.
