Fed holds rates, sees risk of higher inflation and unemployment

Federal Reserve officials held interest rates steady for a third-straight meeting and emphasized they see a growing risk of both higher inflation and rising unemployment.

“Uncertainty about the economic outlook has increased further,” the Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement Wednesday at the conclusion of a two-day meeting in Washington. “The committee is attentive to the risks to both sides of its dual mandate and judges that the risks of higher unemployment and higher inflation have risen.”