Mortgage rates dropped before the Fed’s last meeting, and have risen more than 50 basis points since. If you’re wondering why, you’ll need to look at the 10-year Treasury bond yield.

The Fed’s decision to cut interest rates in September prompted a debate, according to the minutes of that Federal Reserve board meeting.

This is what Fed officials discussed behind closed doors last month before agreeing on a big interest rate cut.

A Federal Reserve official said he was open to cutting interest rates by a quarter percentage point or standing pat at the central bank’s meeting next month depending on how the economic outlook develops.

Somewhat higher core inflation and a strong September jobs report have raised questions among investors about whether the Fed will cut rates again next month. Social Security’s cost-of-living adjustment will be 2.5% in 2025, down from the 3.2% seen in 2024, the Social Security Administration said on Thursday.

The Fed’s decision to opt for a bigger rate cut wasn’t without its controversy, according to minutes from its September meeting. While the move to lower rates by half a percentage point was approved by a majority of the 12 voting members,

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell received some pushback on a half-point interest-rate cut in September, as some officials preferred a smaller, quarter-point cut.

The Federal Reserve's September meeting minutes show a division among officials regarding interest rate cuts, highlighting economic concerns and differing forecasts.

A “substantial majority” of Federal Reserve officials at the central bank’s September meeting supported beginning an era of easier monetary policy with an outsized half-point rate cut. But there appeared even broader agreement that the initial move would not commit the Fed to any particular pace of rate reductions in the future,