US Federal Reserve leaves key rate unchanged
Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell says there is no bias to either tighten or ease monetary policy
Washington — The US Federal Reserve decided Wednesday to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged amid mixed signals about the direction of the US economy. While the central bank noted the continued “strong labour market” and “solid” gains in economic activity, it also highlighted a slowdown in investment by businesses and households and inflation, which has fallen below the Fed’s target. After raising the key lending rate four times last year, the Fed voted unanimously to keep it in a range of 2.25%-2.5%. Conflicting economic data have complicated the Fed’s decision-making, while repeated attacks by President Donald Trump have left the institution open to concerns it might bow to political pressure. Fed chair Jerome Powell stressed: “We think that our policy stance is appropriate at the moment. And we don’t see a strong case for moving in either direction.” Asked whether there was a case building to cut rates to push inflation closer to the Fed’s 2% target, Powell said central ba...
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