The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday cut the benchmark lending rate for the third time this year as the U.S. economy continued to slow.

Following a Federal Open Market Committee(FOMC) meeting, the Fed decided to slash the benchmark rate by a quarter-point to a target range of one-point-five to one-point-75 percent. 

The Fed has now slashed the policy interest rate three times over a four-month period, dropping the rate point-75 percentage points in that time.

The year's first two lending rate cuts occurred in July and September.

In an accompanying statement, the FOMC dropped the phrase “act as appropriate to sustain the expansion,” suggesting a pause in further cuts unless there are material changes in the economic outlook.

The FOMC added, however, a commitment to monitor data as it “assesses the appropriate path of the target range for the federal funds rate.”