The US Federal Reserve (the central bank) on Wednesday announced that it has cut interest rates by 50 basis points to a range of 4.75 percent to 5.00 percent. The Fed's decision to cut interest rates is the first of its kind since 2020, which puts an end to the monetary tightening cycle that began in March 2022. The Federal Reserve said in a statement that members of the Federal Open Market Committee agreed to reduce the range of interest rates on federal funds to between 4.75 percent and 5.00 percent, in line with market expectations that it would be cut by 50 basis points. This comes after the Fed kept interest rates steady at 5.25 percent and 5.50 percent, the highest level in more than 23 years, in the last 8 meetings, which were preceded by raising interest rates 11 times since March 2022. Source: Qatar News Agency