Consumers and traders are waiting to learn if the Fed’s pause is a one-meeting hold or the start of a longer stretch.

After three cuts at the end of last year, Federal Reserve officials paused rate moves as they weigh a solid economy and rising inflation risks. Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, said the central bank was not on a “pre-set course.

Federal Reserve officials held interest rates steady, pausing to assess the inflation outlook following a string of rate reductions last year.

The US Federal Reserve left its key lending rate unchanged Wednesday and adopted a patient "wait and see" approach to Donald Trump's economic policies, in the first decision since his

The central bank’s decision to pause at its first meeting of 2025 followed a series of cuts that began in September to account for progress already made on getting inflation down. Over the course of three meetings, the Fed lowered rates by a full percentage point to a range of 4.25 percent to 4.5 percent, which was maintained on Wednesday.