The U.S. Federal Reserve Board cut the fed funds target rate by 25 basis points today to 1.75%, as most traders had anticipated.

Today’s move marks the 11 time this year that the Fed has moved to cut rates..

In contrast to previous rate moves, there was some degree of uncertainty surrounding today’s decision. While most observers expected the 25 bps cut, some market watchers had forecast a 50 bps cut, while other had forecast no move at all.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about today’s action was that the Fed maintained its bias toward reduced growth. While the smaller rate cut signals a slowing in rate reductions, it is obviously not ruling out further cuts.

“Economic activity remains soft, with underlying inflation likely to edge lower from relatively modest levels. To be sure, weakness in demand shows signs of abating, but those signs are preliminary and tentative. The Committee continues to believe that, against the background of its long-run goals of price stability and sustainable economic growth and of the information currently available, the risks are weighted mainly toward conditions that may generate economic weakness in the foreseeable future,” it said in its policy statement.

Once again, it reiterated its expectation that productivity gains will eventually resume. “Although the necessary reallocation of resources to enhance security may restrain advances in productivity for a time, the long-term prospects for productivity growth and the economy remain favorable and should become evident once the unusual forces restraining demand abate.”