Federal Reserve Leaves Rates Unchanged

The Federal Reserve (Fed), as the central bank is called in the USA, decided not to change interest rates for the sixth consecutive time, attributing it to “lack of further progress” in fighting inflation, which never reached the pre-programmed 2% target.

At a meeting on Wednesday, May 1, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) of the Federal Reserve voted unanimously to keep the key rate between 5.25 and 5.5 percent. The FOMC is the body of the Federal Reserve responsible for overseeing open market operations in the USA and is the Fed’s primary monetary policy instrument.

The prime rate has not changed since last July. In a statement released after the meeting, the US regulator noted “a decline in the rate of inflation over the past year,” reiterating, however, that the rate remains too high. “There has been no further progress toward the 2% target in recent months,” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell emphasized.