Fed Cuts Federal Funds Rate One-Quarter Point

Washington, DC, April 30, 2008--The Federal Reserve lowered a key U.S. interest rate by a quarter percentage point on Wednesday in what could be the last of a series of cuts that began last year.

The Fed's action takes the bellwether federal funds rate to 2 percent, the lowest since December 2004. It was the seventh reduction in a campaign that has brought rates down by 3.25 percentage points since September.

Fed officials also discussed a new measure -- paying interest on commercial bank reserves held at the central bank -- that could improve their ability to provide liquid funds to the market.