While Chair Jerome Powell said officials are prepared to hike again if price pressures return, he indicated policymakers are now turning their focus to when to cut rates as inflation continues its descent toward their 2% goal.
The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady for a third meeting and gave its clearest signal yet that its aggressive hiking campaign is finished by forecasting a series of cuts next year.
Officials decided unanimously to leave the target range for the benchmark federal funds rate at 5.25% to 5.5%, the highest since 2001. Policymakers pencilled in no further interest-rate hikes in their projections for the first time since March 2021, based on the median estimate.
