US Fed keeps interest rates unchanged, sees one rate cut in 2024

The US Federal Reserve decided, during its policy meeting held on June 11-12, to hold interest rates steady at a range between 5.25-5.50% for the fourth time since the beginning of this year, keeping them at their highest level in 23 years.

The Federal Open Market Committee believes that the risks facing achieving employment and inflation goals are moving towards a better balance, while the economic outlook is still uncertain, the central bank said in a statement on Wednesday.

The US policymakers scaled down their expectations to cutting interest rates once this year, instead of three times as previously indicated in March.

"The committee remains very alert to inflation risks," the statement said, meaning policymakers remain concerned about inflation. However, it pointed to additional modest progress toward the inflation target.

The Fed's decision to keep interest rates steady is the eighth of its kind since the start of the current tightening cycle in March 2022, during which the Federal Open Market Committee raised borrowing costs by 525 basis points to contain inflation.

With annual inflation rate slowing to 3.3% in May, from its peak of 9.1% in 2022, markets are awaiting the press conference to be held by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, as well as the quarterly forecasts of policymakers, to anticipate the path of interest rates in the coming years.