Fed holding interest rates steady

The Federal Reserve, on Wednesday, said it intends to continue following its plan on the economy for the rest of the year, despite a recent push from President Donald Trump for the central bank to pause its march toward higher interest rates.
While, as The New York Times reports, Fed officials voted unanimously at the end of their two-day meeting to keep interest rates unchanged, at a range of 1.75% to 2%, the statement issued today keeps the Fed on track to raise rates next month and again in December. This comes following two rate hikes earlier this year.
Its revised assessments of economic growth and the inflation rate could signal that those coming increases are even more likely than investors previously thought.
The statement declared that the job market continues to strengthen and “economic activity has been rising at a strong rate.”
There was no mention of concern in the Fed’s remarks that Trump’s trade policies could hamper growth, nor did it suggest worry about the sluggish pace of wage increases for most workers.
Fed officials said the overall inflation rate and the rate that excludes volatile food and energy prices both “remain near 2 percent,” which is the Fed’s target level. In June, officials said those rates “have moved close to 2 percent.”
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