US Fed holds key rate for first time since March 2022

The Federal Reserve headquarters

The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged for the first time since 15 months.

The Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate steady at the range of 5%-5.25% after raising interest for 10 consecutive meetings.
 

In its policy statement after the meeting, the Federal Reserve said that policymakers will take the next six weeks to watch the impact of policy movement, as the central bank fights inflation.
 

“Holding the target range steady at this meeting allows the committee to assess additional information and its implications for monetary policy," the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) said in a statement.
 

While today’s decision was highly expected, investors are closely watching the press conference of Fed Chair Jerome Powell later today to obtain additional evidence about the Fed’s next move in its battle to curb inflation.
 

Before the meeting, markets expected Powell to leave the door open to raise interest rates once at least this year, in the rate-setting meeting in July, based on the next economic data, including consumer price data in July.
 

On the other hand, the Fed pointed out that rates could be raised twice this year by 25 basis points (bps), which could raise rates to 5.50-5.75%.