The Federal Reserve made a 0.50 percentage point cut, double the typical reduction. Here's what's behind the decision.

Having all but tamed inflation, the Federal Reserve is poised to do something Wednesday it hasn’t done in more than four years: Cut its benchmark interest rate, a step that should lead to lower borrowing costs for consumers and businesses.

Here’s how inflation and the cost of borrowing have changed since the Fed started raising interest rates in March 2022. After peaking at 9.1% in June 2022, inflation has eased, falling to a three-year low of 2.5% in August, just above the Fed’s 2% target rate.