The Federal Reserve cut its influential interest rate for the second meeting in a row last week to boost the economy and prevent a rise in unemployment, but it may take a while for consumers to see its effects.

The Federal Reserve's rate cuts won't directly lower home prices in 2025. But they could spur a chain reaction that leads to a drop in home prices.

Speaking in Dallas, Powell noted the economy’s resilience, stating there’s “no hurry to lower rates.” The Fed had previously reduced rates by 50 and 25 basis points in September and November, but market odds of a December cut have now dropped to 59%.

Global stock markets ended the week on a sour note Friday as traders mulled Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's comments that the US central bank was not on a preset path to cut interest rates. While the US central bank is expected to cut interest rates again next month,

October's Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures changes in the cost of consumer goods and services, showed that annual inflation rose by 2.6%. That's not an alarmingly high rate of inflation. It's also only a modest uptick from September's CPI reading, which measured annual inflation at 2.4%.

Fed watchers see a greater chance the central bank may skip a rate cut at its last meeting of the year in December.

Bringing the latest business news and up-to-date informed analysis from New York and around the world.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Thursday that interest rates are still expected to decline further, but suggested they might not be that much lower over the next few months.

"The economy is not sending any signals that we need to be in a hurry to lower rates," he said, calling the US economy's recent performance "by far the best of any major economy i