Federal Reserve holds rates steady. Here's the financial impact.

Federal Reserve officials said they are leaving their benchmark complaint untouched, a determination expected by economists and Wall Street aft ostentation ticked upward during nan first 3 months of 2024. 

The Fed connected Wednesday said it is keeping nan national costs complaint successful a scope of 5.25% to 5.5%, nan aforesaid level it has held since nan cardinal bank's July 2023 meeting, which is its highest level successful much than 20 years. 

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has many times said nan cardinal slope prefers to support rates precocious until ostentation retreats to astir 2% connected an yearly basis, alternatively than risking cutting excessively early and fueling different information of value spikes. Despite nan Fed's flurry of liking complaint hikes, ostentation remains stubbornly high, pinch March prices rising 3.5% from a twelvemonth earlier, fueled by higher lodging and gasoline prices. 

"The Fed has been saying that this could return immoderate clip and group shouldn't expect rates to plummet down to zero anytime soon," noted Jacob Channel, elder economist astatine LendingTree. Nevertheless, he added, "There is simply a bully chance that we'll get cuts sometime later successful nan year."

Wall Street traders now envision conscionable a single complaint cut this twelvemonth to nan Fed's benchmark rate. That compares pinch their expectations astatine twelvemonth commencement that nan Fed could trim rates arsenic overmuch arsenic six times successful 2024. 

—With reporting by nan Associated Press. This is simply a breaking communicative and will beryllium updated. 

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