Fed Lowers Benchmark Rate by a Quarter Point to 4.5 Percent

The Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point to 4.5 percent to cushion the U.S. economy from the housing recession that officials predict will extend into next year.

Today's action, combined with the policy action taken in September, should help forestall some of the adverse effects on the broader economy that might otherwise arise from the disruptions in financial markets, the Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement after the meeting today in Washington. The committee judges that, after this action, the upside risks to inflation roughly balance the downside risks to growth.

Policy makers lowered borrowing costs for a second month even after reports today showed the economy expanded more than forecast last quarter and companies stepped up hiring. Chairman Ben S. Bernanke emphasized this month that the outlook is uncertain and housing will constrain growth into 2008.

Economic growth was solid in the third quarter, and strains in financial markets have eased somewhat on balance, the Fed said. However, the pace of economic expansion will likely slow in the near term, partly reflecting the intensification of the housing correction.

Discount Rate

The Fed also lowered the discount rate, the cost of direct loans to banks, by 25 basis points to 5 percent, from 5.25 percent. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.

Policy makers said in the statement that inflation risks remain and the committee will continue to monitor inflation developments carefully.

Economists anticipated the decision, according to the median of 108 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey. Futures contracts on the Chicago Board of Trade showed traders also expected a quarter-point move.

Economists and former officials said before the meeting that the central bank would want to preserve leeway to take back the rate cuts should the economy weather the risks from credit and housing markets. Vice Chairman Donald Kohn said Oct. 5 the Fed must be nimble in adjusting policy to promote both growth and price stability.

Bernanke, 53, and other officials in speeches this month have described the importance of taking out insurance to protect the economy from risks when the outlook is difficult to judge.

Consumer-price increases have slowed, while a falling dollar and rising oil costs threaten a renewed acceleration. The Fed's preferred gauge, the personal consumption expenditures price index excluding food and energy, probably rose 1.8 percent in September from a year ago, according to the median forecast. The Commerce Department reports the figures tomorrow.

The index remained below 2 percent from June to August. Bernanke, before taking the Fed's helm, said his comfort range for the measure was 1 percent to 2 percent.

The Commerce Department said today that the expansion picked up in the third quarter, though economists surveyed by Bloomberg predict a slowing this quarter. A private report showed companies hired 106,000 this month after creating 61,000 jobs in September.

The economy grew at a 3.9 percent annual rate in July to September, up from 3.8 percent in the previous three months, Commerce figures showed. It will slow to a 1.8 percent pace in the current period, according to the median estimate in a survey published Oct. 10.

Housing figures this month showed the industry has yet to find a bottom. A private survey yesterday showed home values in 20 metropolitan areas slid the most in at least six years. Sales of previously owned homes fell to the lowest level since National Association of Realtors began keeping records in 1999, and government figures recorded a 14-year low for housing starts.

Continued stress in credit markets may lengthen the housing recession and temper business investment plans. The world's largest banks and securities firms announced more than $30 billion of third-quarter charges.

Citigroup Inc. the biggest U.S. bank, said Oct. 15 that earnings fell 57 percent as loan losses increased. Merrill Lynch & Co. last week wrote down the value of subprime mortgages, asset-backed debt and leveraged loans by $8.4 billion.

The benchmark rate is now at the lowest level since January 2006. Bernanke took office the following month, and continued a series of rate increases that lifted the federal funds rate to 5.25 percent by June last year.

Source - Bloomberg