WASHINGTON (AP) – The Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by a half-percentage point in its first emergency rate cut since the Great Recession in response to the spreading Coronavirus.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Tuesday that the coronavirus “poses evolving risks to economic activity.”
In a statement, the Fed said in part: “The Committee is closely monitoring developments and their implications for the economic outlook and will use its tools and act as appropriate to support the economy.”
It was the Fed’s first emergency cut between its regular meetings since the recession in 2008, and also its first cut larger than just a quarter-point since that year.
Click here to read the full statement from the Federal Reserve.
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