Takeaways: Fed Chair Powell says don’t count on a December rate cut

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell holds a press conference after the Fed cut interest rates by quarter of a percentage point, in Washington, DC, on October 29. Kevin Lamarque/Reuters Washington —

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday lowered interest rates for the second time this year in a continued bid to prevent unemployment from surging.

But another rate cut at the next meeting in December “is not a forgone conclusion,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in a news conference, adding there were “strongly differing views” among policymakers on how to move forward.

Fed officials voted for another quarter-point rate cut, lowering their benchmark lending rate to a range between 3.75% and 4%, the lowest in three years.

Wednesday’s decision drew two dissents; one from Fed Governor Stephen