© 2025 WRVO Public Media
NPR News for Central New York
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

What Lower Interest Rates Mean For The Economy

The US Federal Reserve is seen in Washington, DC.
MANDEL NGAN
/
AFP via Getty Images
The US Federal Reserve is seen in Washington, DC.

The Federal Reserve has begun cutting interest rates after two years of rate hikes to the highest levels in decades.

It meets again this week to decide whether to cut them again, or keep them as is.

High interest rates made the cost of borrowing high, meaning that car loans, credit card debt, and mortgages cost exponentially more than before the pandemic.

How does the Fed's decisions to lower rates affect the economy? And how will the incoming Trump administration affect these rates going into 2025 and beyond?

Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.

Copyright 2024 NPR