MARKET OUTLOOK - Fed Statement Shows Minimal Changes Since September

Forex - The Fed's policy statement for November includes very few changes compared to the announcement published in September. The Fed has stated that the decision to reduce interest rates by a quarter point was reached unanimously this time.

The most significant difference in the statement reflects the recent slight decline in the unemployment rate. In September, the Fed wrote: “Employment gains have slowed and the unemployment rate has risen but remains low.” In this meeting, the Fed modified this sentence to: “Labor market conditions have generally eased since the beginning of the year, and the unemployment rate has risen but remains low.”

The Fed also now states that inflation is making “progress toward the target”; in September, it used the phrase “has made more progress.”