The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady Wednesday as it seeks to curb stubborn inflation.
Fed policymakers have hinted that they’ll be cautious about additional rate cuts, so long as the job market remains solid and prices continue to climb.
“We feel like we don’t need to be in a hurry to make any adjustments,” Fed chairman Jerome Powell told reporters Wednesday.
Members of the Fed’s rate-setting committee voted unanimously to leave their benchmark interest rate between 4.25% and 4.5%. That helps determine the cost of other short-term borrowing, such as car loans and credit card debt.
The central bank has already cut its benchmark rate by a full percentage point since September. But faced with sticky inflation, policymakers are in no hurry to make additional cuts. Consumer prices in December were up 2.9% from a year ago — a slightly larger annual increase than the previous month.
Meanwhile, the job market has proven to be remarkably resilient, with employers adding more than a quarter-million jobs last month. If the labor market were weaker, there would be more pressure on the Fed to cut borrowing costs and stimulate hiring.