The Fed just cut rates on the cusp of an election. Here's how policy shifts unfolded during past presidential races

BY Reuters3 minute read The Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates by half a percentage point on Wednesday marked the closest the central bank has come in launching an easing cycle on the cusp of a U.S. presidential election in nearly half a century.

While interest rate policy is rarely static during election years, kicking off a brand new rate-cutting phase with fewer than 10 weeks to Election Day has happened only twice before now — in 1976 and in 1984. The U.S.



central bank is an independent federal agency, and Fed Chair Jerome Powell and other policymakers consistently say political considerations — including approaching elections — do not factor at all in their decisions on interest rates. "This is my fourth presidential election at the Fed," Powell said in a press conference following the Fed's policy meeting in late July. "(A)nything that we do before, during, or after the election will be based on the data, the outlook, and the balance of risks and not on anything else.

" Subscribe to the Compass Newsletter. Fast Company's trending stories delivered to you daily Privacy Policy | Fast Company Newsletters Not everyone is convinced. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said earlier this year he thought the Fed might lower rates to help Democrats in the Nov.

5 election. Trump said last month that presidents ought to have a say over Fed decisions. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, said only that she would respect the Fed's independence.

"As president, I would never interfere in the decisions that the Fed makes," she said...

Reuters.