The US central bank has decided to leave interest rates unchanged after 15 months of continuous increases.
“The Committee seeks to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the longer run,” the statement by Federal Reserve said. “In support of these goals, the Committee decided to raise the target range for the federal funds rate to 5 to 5.25 percent. Holding the target range steady at this meeting allows the Committee to assess additional information and its implications for monetary policy. In determining the extent to which additional policy firming may be appropriate to return inflation to 2 percent over time, the Committee will take into account the cumulative tightening of monetary policy, the lags with which monetary policy affects economic activity and inflation, and economic and financial developments.”
In short, this is a warning: inflation remains high, and further upward adjustments are expected throughout the year, while rate cuts could happen in 2024. Therefore, this is a unanimous weighing of the pros and cons in anticipation of a better understanding of economic dynamics in the near future.