AsianFin -- The US Federal Reserve on Thursday slashed interest rates by 25 basis points amid cooling inflation and a weakening labor market, marking the second rate cut in this easing cycle.

"Since earlier in the year, labor market conditions have generally eased, and the unemployment rate has moved up but remains low. Inflation has made progress toward the Committee's 2 percent objective but remains somewhat elevated," the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the central bank's policy-setting body, said in a statement.

In support of its goals, the committee decided to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 0.25 percentage point to 4.5 percent to 4.75 percent, the statement said.

The Fed's latest decision came after a weak employment report, which showed that US employers added only 12,000 jobs in October, amid a cooling labor market. This slowdown was exacerbated by the strike and impact of recent hurricanes.