The United States Federal Reserve announced on Tuesday that it decided to cut the target range for the federal funds rate by 50 basis points to the 1%-1.25% due to coronavirus concerns.
“The fundamentals of the US economy remain strong. However, the coronavirus poses evolving risks to economic activity,” the central bank said in a statement and noted that all members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted in favor of the emergency move. “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,” the FOMC added.
The unexpected announcement comes just hours after US President Donald Trump urged the Fed to further lower rates as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.