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Fed cuts key interest rate Martin Crutsinger The Associated Press

WASHINGTON
    The Federal Reserve cut a key interest rate by a quarter-point Wednesday, a smaller move than the aggressive easing it undertook earlier this year. There were signs the Fed might believe it has done enough to prevent a deep recession.

    The Fed action, after a two-day meeting, pushed the federal funds rate down to 2 percent, the lowest level since late 2004. It marked the seventh rate cut by the central bank since it began easing credit conditions last September to combat the growing threat of a recession brought on by a severe housing slump and credit crisis.

    Commercial banks immediately announced they were cutting their prime lending rate to 5 percent. That will mean cheaper credit for the millions of business and consumer loans tied to the prime.

    Many private economists said they believed a Fed statement was signaling the central bank might be through cutting rates unless the economy weakens much more than now expected.

    “They are saying that unless we are surprised by further weakness, this is it,” said David Jones, chief economist at DMJ Advisors.

    Sung Won Sohn, an economics professor at California State University, said, “The Fed is telling us that this easing cycle is coming to an end fairly soon.”

    Analysts said the central bank seemed to be balanced between worries about economic weakness and concerns that inflation pressures are increasing. The Fed noted it had done quite a bit already.

    “The substantial easing of monetary policy to date, combined with ongoing measures to foster market liquidity, should help to promote moderate growth over time and to mitigate risks to economic activity,” Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues said in their statement.