Federal Reserve is expected to make 3rd consecutive rate cut this week. Here's what to know.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday will make its final interest rate decision of 2024, capping a year during which the central bank provided some financial relief to inflation-weary borrowers in September by ushering in its first rate reduction in four years.

On Dec. 18, the Federal Reserve is likely to make its third consecutive reduction of 2024, according to economists polled by financial data firm FactSet. Yet many experts are also bracing for a slower pace of cuts in 2025 given the nation's still-sticky inflation rate and some of President-elect Donald Trump's proposed economic policies, which, if enacted, could prove inflationary. 

The Federal Reserve has been battling inflation since March 2022, when it began ratcheting up rates to cool the economy, eventually pushing its benchmark rate to its highest level in 23 years. While inflation has moderated considerably since then, November's Consumer Price Index rose 2.7%, outpacing the Fed's goal of driving down inflation to a 2% annual rate.