The Fed's interest rate decision will be announced in Washington at 3:00 Beijing time on Thursday, and Federal Reserve Chairperson Jerome Powell will hold a post-meeting press conference 30 minutes later. The Fed has cut interest rates at three consecutive meetings since last September, cutting the base rate by a full percentage point and targeting a current range of 4.25% to 4.5%. Several policymakers said they expected a smaller rate cut this year after data showed the U.S. economy was solid and inflation was more sticky than expected. Still, officials are unlikely to commit to any particular path for interest rates, given a series of surprising data releases and uncertainty surrounding how the U.S. economy will respond to Trump's series of bold new policies on trade, taxes, immigration and regulation.