Interest Rate Adjustment
The Federal Reserve released the minutes detailing its meeting last month, during which it decided to cut interest rates by 25 basis points.
Economic Indicators and Labor Market
The Fed's October meeting minutes revealed a gradual cooling in the labor market, despite limited data flow due to the government shutdown. However, no signs of a sharp deterioration were observed.
According to the minutes, real GDP growth slowed in the first half of the year, and inflation continued its upward trend since the beginning of the year.
Officials stated that current indicators confirm a weakening in labor demand, but that the risk of a “drastic decline” has not yet emerged.
Inflation Data
The minutes show that annual personal consumption expenditures (PCE) inflation, calculated based on CPI data, was 2.8 percent in September.
During the same period, core PCE inflation, which excludes energy and most food prices, reached 2.8 percent. These figures indicate that overall PCE inflation increased by 0.5 percentage points compared to the previous year, while core PCE remained unchanged from the previous year.