Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images The federal funds rate influences a number of borrowing costs. Key Takeaways The Federal Reserve's policy committee voted to reduce the central bank's key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to a range of 4% to 4.25%, the lowest since December 2022. Fed officials have grown more worried that tariffs will spark a wave of unemployment than that they will fuel inflation, at least for the time being. The vote was divided, reflecting the Fed's dilemma: lower inter ...