Fed holds interest rate steady

Federal Reserve headquarters

The Federal Reserve held the US interest rates steady for the fifth time since the start of the current tightening cycle in March 2022, as was widely expected, to remain at their highest levels in more than two decades.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) decided to keep the benchmark federal funds target between 5.25% and 5.5% for the fourth straight meeting since raising the borrowing costs in July 2023.

Rate-setters indicated they would need more time before deciding to lower borrowing costs, saying the FOMC “does not expect it will be appropriate to reduce the target range until it has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably towards 2%.”