The Fed is also tipped to signal a slower path of cuts going forward amid uncertainty over the impact of President-elect Donald Trump's economic proposals
The consumer price index (CPI) rose to 2.7 percent last month from a year ago
The lame-duck president's speech comes after Trump won a second term largely on the back of US voters' anger at high costs of living under Democrats.
The labour market's resilience is driving the economy through strong consumer spending, with the closely watched employment report from the Labor Department on Friday showing solid wage growth last month
Holiday shoppers largely browsed at brick-and-mortar stores, making more online purchases at some retailers, snapping up such items as pre-owned Rolex watches,
The Federal Reserve has a dual mandate from Congress to keep both inflation and unemployment under control, and recently began rolling back high interest rates in order to better support the labor market
New York Fed President John Williams said inflation was now "within striking distance" of two percent.
The biggest sales during the annual day-after-Thanksgiving promotions were for toys, jewelry, household appliances, skin- and hair-care products, clothes and electronic devices
Trump, who won a crushing presidential victory this week, vowed during his campaign to slap 60 percent tariffs on all Chinese goods entering the United States in an attempt to balance trade between the two nations.
"You make it so high, so horrible, so obnoxious" companies will "come right away," Trump said.
US tariffs weigh on many industries. The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) estimates retail prices have risen five percent to 10 percent annually since 2020
Ahead of November's election, economists warn his policies could raise consumer prices and shake up global trade -- with unclear benefits to US production
Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao's call with US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo was described by Beijing as "candid, in-depth and pragmatic".
Despite indicators showing the US economy is moving in a healthy direction, many Americans remain pessimistic about business and job prospects -- a mood that poses a frustrating problem for Vice President Kamala Harris in her neck-and-neck race with Donald Trump for the White House
US dockers launched strike action on Tuesday in 36 ports on the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico. Around half of North America's maritime trade passes through those ports
"Tariffs are very blunt instruments," Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, told CNBC in an interview.
The rate-cut lowers the cost of borrowing for consumers and businesses, bringing some relief to households weeks before November's presidential election -- even as the Fed works independently of the US administration
If Harris manages to defeat Republican candidate Donald Trump, she will likely face a much more constraining fiscal and political environment than her predecessors
The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index was up 2.2 percent from a year ago in August, down from 2.5 percent in July, the Commerce Department said
