The Federal Open Market Committee voted unanimously to keep the federal funds rate in a range of 4.25%-4.5%, after lowering rates by a full percentage point in the final months of 2024.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said officials are not in a rush to lower interest rates, adding the central bank is pausing to see further progress on inflation following a string of rate reductions last year.
“We do not need to be in a hurry to adjust our policy stance,” Powell said Wednesday, noting that the economy remains strong and interest rates are no longer restraining the economy as much as they had been.
