Federal Reserve officials kept interest rates at a target range of 4.25% to 4.5% following the conclusion of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on Wednesday.
The range has stayed the same since December when the Fed cut rates by 25 basis points or 0.25%, but the Fed indicated that reductions to the rate could occur later in the year.
“We’ll be adapting as we go,” Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said in a Wednesday press conference following the decision. He noted that the Fed does not need to rush to make policy adjustments and “is well positioned to wait for clarity” on President Donald Trump’s economic plans, including tariffs.
“Everybody is forecasting some inflation effect from tariffs,” Powell stated at the press conference. “We’re going to have to wait and see all of that.”
The move to hold rates steady was expected. Elyse Ausenbaugh, head of investment strategy at J.P. Morgan Wealth Management, told Entrepreneur in an emailed statement that the lack of change to the rate was “unsurprising.”
“I continue to admire the Fed’s patience as we all await further clarity on the feed-through effects of trade policy right now, but I think investors will be craving clearer direction out of the FOMC meetings ahead,” Ausenbaugh stated.
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Meanwhile, Melissa Cohn, regional vice president of William Raveis Mortgage and a 43-year mortgage industry veteran, told Entrepreneur in a separate emailed statement that if tariffs and higher inflation occurred, future rate cuts would be unlikely.
“What happens in the economy in the next three months will be the driver of future rate movement from the Fed,” she stated.
Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Fed policymakers on Wednesday also predicted higher unemployment and less economic growth this year than they did in December. According to Fox Business, policymakers projected that real gross domestic product (GDP) would grow by 1.7% by the end of the year, down from a 2.1% prediction in December. They also forecasted an unemployment rate of 4.4% in December, up from a previous prediction of 4.3%.
The unemployment rate was 4.1% and inflation was at 2.8% in February, per the latest federal data. The Fed’s goal is to maintain low prices and drive full employment.
The Fed also held rates steady in January, following three preceding cuts in September, November, and December.
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