#FOMCMeeting The Federal Reserve (Fed) began a two-day monetary policy meeting on Tuesday in which it is expected that the U.S. central bank will maintain interest rates despite pressure from President Donald Trump to cut them.
Fed officials are closely monitoring the effects of Trump's tariffs in order to assess their impact on inflation and the labor market.
The central bank is expected to make its decision public at 2:00 PM Washington time on Wednesday.
Although the Fed has started to lower benchmark rates from their recent highs as inflation has moderated (which had surged during the pandemic), it has kept rates stable this year due to uncertainty caused in the economy by Trump's tariffs.
Interest rates remain between 4.25% and 4.50%, but the president has repeatedly urged the Fed to cut them by one percentage point.
The Federal Reserve may be patient and wait to see how tariffs affect inflation and the labor market this summer, said Ryan Sweet, chief economist for the United States at Oxford Economics.
