The Federal Reserve gave consumers another break from raising interest rates on Wednesday, allowing the 11 rate hikes it has already made over the last 22 months more time to work their way through the economy.
The central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee, which sets interest rate policy, left its key rate unchanged at a 22-year high of 5.25% to 5.5% — where policymakers have let it stand since July.
FOMC policymakers are still leaving open the possibility of an additional hike in the future if inflation doesn’t return to their 2% target — as they did in their Oct. 31-Nov. 1 meeting, but the language in its statement softened somewhat. Tuesday’s report on the Consumer Price Index showed inflation running at an annualized rate of 3.1% in November, down from a peak of 9.1% in June 2022.
Consumers can expect interest rates on credit cards, car loans, and mortgages to remain elevated for the foreseeable future, but they at least won’t immediately rise higher.
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by TheMessengerNews