The Federal Open Market Committee voted on 29 October 2025 to reduce the federal funds target rate by 25 basis points to a range of 3.75% to 4.00%, the latest step in an easing cycle that the Federal Reserve began in September 2024. The decision was reached on a 10-2 vote, with the two dissenting members pulling in opposite directions: one preferred a larger 50 basis point reduction, whilst another voted to hold rates steady.
The cut brings the cumulative easing delivered since the start of the cycle to 150 basis points. The Federal Reserve stated that the United States economy was continuing to grow at a moderate pace. The Committee's statement reiterated its data-dependent approach, indicating that the future pace of rate adjustments would be guided by incoming information on inflation, employment, and broader economic activity.
DISSENTS
Governor Stephen Miran preferred a 50 basis point cut. Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid preferred to leave the target range unchanged.
The Committee's post-meeting statement contained no explicit forward guidance on the trajectory of future adjustments, and it announced that the reduction of the Fed's securities holdings would end on 1 December.
ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT
The statement said job gains had slowed and the unemployment rate had edged up, that downside risks to employment had risen, and that inflation had moved up since earlier in the year and remained somewhat elevated.
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