US Federal Reserve officials began their meeting Tuesday to determine the key interest rate, with a cut expected despite the lack of data due to the ongoing government shutdown.
Most US central bank officials are expected to support a quarter-point interest rate cut to between 3.75 and 4%, in order to support a labor market that is showing signs of weakness. This would be the second such decision after a previous cut during the September meeting.
The Federal Reserve will announce its decision on Wednesday at 1800 GMT.
The decision is certain to face opposition during the voting process from Governor Stephen Miran, who was recently appointed by President Donald Trump to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and is a former advisor to him.
During the previous meeting, the first meeting he attended, Miran stood alone in opposing the decision to reduce the figure by a quarter point, arguing that a reduction of half a point should have been approved all at once.
The governors are divided between those who support further reductions, but in gradual steps, and those who are hesitant to reduce key interest rates as long as inflation is not contained.
The difficulty lies in the fact that they are conducting their discussions in the absence of any data that would enable them to examine the actual state of the economy, with the collection and publication of official figures halted due to the ongoing government paralysis since October 1st.
The situation prevented the release of unemployment figures for September, or even the collection of data for October, and inflation indicators.
