A divided US Federal Reserve has cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point and announced it will restart limited purchases of Treasury securities after money markets showed signs that liquidity was becoming scarce, a condition the US central bank has pledged to avoid.

The rate cut, which included a nod to the data limits the central bank faces during the current US federal government shutdown, drew dissents from two policy-makers, with governor Stephen Miran again calling for a deeper reduction in borrowing costs and Kansas City Fed president Jeffrey Schmid favouring no cut at all given ongoing inflation.

The balance sheet decision will as of December 1 keep the total amount of the Fed's holdings steady on a month-to-month basis but shift its portfolio by reinvesting the proc

See Full Page