US Fed Meeting Live Updates: Federal Reserve is set to cut interest rates again

Applications for US unemployment benefits picked up last week, remaining near average pre-pandemic levels.

Initial claims increased by 3,000 to 221,000 in the week ended Nov. 2. That was roughly in line with the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

Traders are looking to central bankers for clues on how Trump’s tax-cut and tariff policies could alter their outlook for global growth and inflation, reports Bloomberg

Gold prices rose on Thursday but traded near a three-week low, as market participants awaited an expected rate cut decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve later in the day.

Spot gold gained 0.3% to $2,668.23 per ounce, as of 1238 GMT, after hitting its lowest level since Oct. 15 earlier in the session.

U.S. gold futures were steady at $2,675.40

The second day of interest rate deliberations began at 9:00 am local time (1400 GMT) in Washington, as scheduled, the Fed said in a statement. The decision will be published at 2:00 pm local time, followed by a press conference from Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

The Federal Open Market Committee(FOMC) will conclude its two-day meeting that began on Wednesday.

The FOMC, will announce its rate call today at 2 p.m. Eastern time(ET), 12.30 am IST. Fed Chair Jerome Powell will hold a press conference starting at 2:30 p.m(ET), 1.30 am IST.