STORY: :: President Biden hails economic

progress after the latest Fed rate cut

:: September 19, 2024

:: Washington, D.C.

"Yesterday was an important day for the country, in my view. Two and a half years after the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates, it announced that it began lowering interest rates. I think it's good news for consumers, and that means the cost of buying a home, a car and so much more will be going down. // It doesn't mean our work is done. Far from it. Far from it. No one should confuse why I'm here. I'm not here to take a victory lap. I'm not here to say a job well done. I'm not here to say we don't have a hell of a lot more work to do. We do have more work to do. But what I am here to speak about is how far we've come, how we got here, and most importantly, the foundation that I believe built for a more prosperous and equitable future in America. So let's be clear. The fed lowering interest rates isn't a declaration of victory. It's a declaration of progress. It's a signal. we've entered a new phase of our economy and our recovery."

Fed Chair Jerome Powell, speaking on Wednesday after the U.S. central bank cut interest rates by half a percentage point, said the economy remained strong but policymakers wanted to stay ahead of and stave off any weakening in the job market.

The unemployment rate, now at 4.2%, is more than half a percentage point higher than it was when the Fed began an aggressive rate-hike campaign in March of 2022.