The Federal Reserve continued its rate-cutting campaign on Thursday, cutting its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point in a widely anticipated move.

The Fed’s policy committee unanimously cut its benchmark rate by 0.25 percentage points to 4.5% to 4.75%, its lowest level since March 2023.

The Fed cut interest rates for the second time in as many meetings as part of its efforts to stimulate the economy and prevent the recent slowdown in the labor market from turning into a serious increase in unemployment. Until September, the central bank was keeping interest rates at two-decade highs to suppress inflation, but consumer price increases have slowed nearly to the Fed’s 2% annual target. The Fed is trying to fulfill the instructions it received from Congress to keep both inflation and unemployment low.

“The committee judges that the risks to achieving the employment and inflation targets are roughly balanced,” the committee said, echoing the wording from its September statement.

Fed officials left it open-ended how quickly they will cut interest rates at future meetings, reiterating that their future decisions will be guided by economic data. The Federal Open Market Committee met again in December, and Fed officials predicted another quarter-point interest rate cut at this meeting, but did not make a commitment to that effect.

A lower Fed funds rate puts downward pressure on borrowing costs for all types of loans, including credit cards, auto loans and mortgages. But financial markets also play a role in some of these rates, so borrowers don’t immediately benefit from the Fed’s latest cuts.

Interest rates on mortgages tied to the 10-year Treasury and investors’ concerns about inflation have risen due to concerns that President-elect Trump’s economic policies will negatively affect them. Encouraging faster price increases for consumer goods.