Federal Reserve lowers interest rate by .25%

(CNN, KYMA) - For the first time since December, the Federal Reserve has cut its benchmark interest rate.

Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell announced Wednesday the cut of a quarter percentage point to a new range of four to 4.25%.

This also marks the first rate cut of President Donald Trump's second term, an action the president has been pressing for months.

Fed officials, earlier this year, said they wanted to wait to see how the effects of President Trump's tariff policies would play out.

Powell said a key factor in the rate cut decision was the need to support a weakening job market.

The Fed signaled that more cuts are likely this year.