US Fed rate cut plans likely unchanged by Trump victory

Washington: The US Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut interest rates by a quarter point Thursday, looking beyond the election results to contin...

Washington: The US Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut interest rates by a quarter point Thursday, looking beyond the election results to continue easing borrowing costs on the back of cooling inflation.

The US central bank sits just a short walk from the White House, where Democratic President Joe Biden will soon hand back the keys to Donald Trump following the Republican's election win.

Despite the political whiplash, analysts expect Fed policymakers meeting in Washington this week to eschew any drama.

"We still expect them to cut, at least in November," KPMG Chief Economist Diane Swonk told AFP Wednesday.

After hiking interest rates to a two-decade high last year in a bid to control runaway inflation, the Fed recently began lowering its key lending rate again, cutting by half a percentage-point in September and signaling more to come.