Fed maintains interest rates

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday said its leaders did not yet have confidence that annual inflation was sustainably cooling down to its goal of 2 percent. Even so, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell told reporters that recent economic data had given the central bank more confidence that inflation was headed in the right direction. The Fed announced that it decided to keep its key interest rates at 5.25 percent to 5.5 percent, where they have been for roughly a year.

Where is inflation now? The inflation rate is about 2.5 percent, Powell said. He noted that the number had decreased significantly compared to two years ago. The economy was expanding at a solid pace, the Fed noted. The central bank acknowledged a recent uptick in unemployment and a slowdown in job gains and said that its economic outlook remained uncertain.

Dig deeper: Listen to Nick Eicher’s Monday Moneybeat discussion with David Bahnsen analyzing the differences between former President Donald Trump’s and Vice President Kamala Harris’ visions for the economy.