Fed says it strongly supports decision to cut interest rates by 50 basis points

The Fed governor said today that she "strongly supports" the Fed's decision to cut interest rates by 50 basis points, reflecting the focus on the job market. "The job market remains resilient, but the FOMC now needs to balance its focus so that it can continue to make progress on eliminating inflation while avoiding unnecessary pain and economic weakness," said Ms Coogler. "I strongly support last week's decision [to cut rates by 50 basis points] and will support further rate cuts if inflation continues to progress as I expect." Ms Coogler expects Friday's inflation data to show continued easing of price pressures, with the PCE price index likely to be as low as 2.2 per cent annually in August. She said it was appropriate for the Fed to focus on the job market, which had cooled but was "still resilient" and that the 4.2 per cent unemployment rate was "still fairly low by historical standards".