The central bank stuck to a wait-and-see approach as officials brace for President Trump’s tariffs to stoke higher inflation and slower growth.
The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday for a third meeting in a row, as officials pointed to heightened uncertainty about how significantly President Trump’s tariffs will raise inflation and slow growth.
The unanimous decision to stand pat will keep interest rates at 4.25 percent to 4.5 percent, where they have been since December after a series of cuts in the second half of 2024.
The Fed gathered at a highly volatile moment for the economy and the global financial system amid an onslaught of policy changes from Mr. Trump just months into his second term in the White House.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Fed acknowledged that the labor market was still “solid.” But policymakers also noted that “uncertainty about the economic outlook has increased further” and “risks of higher unemployment and higher inflation have risen.”
At a news conference after the decision, Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, said he could not yet say “which way this will shake out” in terms of whether to be more worried about inflation or growth.
Mr. Powell did not deviate much from an earlier stance that the Fed is not in a “hurry” to lower interest rates. He stressed that the Fed was “well positioned” to respond in a “timely way to potential economic developments” and that the costs of waiting were still “low.”


