Fed cuts benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points

​​WASHINGTON –The Federal Reserve has cut its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point in an effort to support the economy in the face of the spreading coronavirus.

With the change, the Fed’s benchmark funds rate will now be targeted in a range between 1 and 1.25 percent. 

This is the Fed’s first rate cut since last year, when it reduced its key short-term rate three times for a total of 75 basis points.​

It is also the first time the bank has cut its key rate between policy meetings since the 2008 financial crisis and the largest rate cut since then.

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