Fed to Hold Interest Rates Steady But Start Considering Cuts
The U.S. Federal Reserve yesterday completed its two-day policy meeting and will likely hold interest rates steady for a fourth straight meeting but avoid signaling an imminent interest-rate cut.
The U.S. Federal Reserve yesterday completed its two-day policy meeting and will likely hold interest rates steady for a fourth straight meeting but avoid signaling an imminent interest-rate cut.
The Federal Open Market Committee is poised to keep rates in a range of 5.25% to 5.5% at its two-day policy meeting ending Wednesday, a 22-year high first reached in July. The rate decision and accompanying statement will be released at 2 p.m. in Washington.
The Federal Reserve left rates unchanged in January, but noted that it won’t be appropriate to cut rates until it has gained “greater confidence” that inflation is approaching its 2% goal. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell spoke at a press conference, where he shared details on this latest move. “We’ve had inflation come down without a slow economy and without important increases in unemployment. There’s no reason why we should want to get in the way of that process if it is going to continue,” he said.
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