Fed holds rates steady, indicates only one cut coming this year

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday kept its key interest rate unchanged and signaled that just one cut is expected before the end of the year.

With markets hoping for a more accommodative central bank, Federal Open Market Committee policymakers following their two-day meeting took two rate reductions off the table from the three indicated in March. The committee also signaled that it believes the long-run interest rate is higher than previously indicated.

New forecasts released after this week’s two-day meeting indicated only slight optimism that inflation remains on track to head back to the Fed’s 2% goal, allowing for some policy loosening later this year.

“Inflation has eased over the past year but remains elevated,” the post-meeting statement said, echoing language from the last statement. In the only substantive change, the new statement followed with, “In recent months, there has been modest further progress toward the Committee’s 2 percent inflation objective.”

The previous language said there had been “a lack of further progress” on inflation.