In its second meeting of the year, the Federal Reserve Open Markets Committee elected to hold interest rates at their current level, a target range of 5.25 to 5.5 percent. This fifth consecutive pause follows a cooling down of the labor market, with a slight increase of the unemployment rate to 3.9 percent and the addition of 275,000 jobs.
Inflation has proven a tougher nut to crack than was perhaps initially anticipated. The rate of inflation clocked in at 3.2 percent as of February, a 10-basis-point increase over January and more than a percentage point above the Fed’s target of 2 percent. Still, inflation metrics are down significantly since their peak in June 2022.
Source: Fed Holds Steady, But Lower Interest Rates Seem Certain – Multi-Housing News
