(May 6): The US central bank is keeping rates steady, with Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell saying he sees no immediate need to move interest rates either higher or lower, and that the Fed is watching for a rebound in persistently sluggish inflation.
On May 1, it kept the target range for the benchmark federal funds rate unchanged at 2.25% to 2.5%, which is where the rate has been since December. It made a “technical tweak” to one of its key rates to ensure borrowing costs remain where it wants them to stay.
Powell said “solid fundamentals” are supporting the US economy and argued that temporary factors might be holding down inflation. Powell and his colleagues in the Federal Open Market Committee are under intense pressure from President Donald Trump to ease borrowing costs to keep growth firm as the US heads for its longest--ever economic expansion.
