America: Fed made no change in interest rates, expected three quarterly rate cuts this year

The Federal Reserve made no changes in interest rates on Wednesday. According to foreign media reports, the Reserve estimated that the cost of borrowing will reduce to some extent by the end of the year due to low inflation. Fed officials, in their March policy decision, kept interest rates steady at about 5.3%, where they are set through July 2023.

Policymakers also released a new set of quarterly economic projections for the first time since December and projected borrowing costs would end at 4.6% in 2024. That unchanged forecast shows they still expect three quarterly rate cuts this year.

As of this month, Fed policymakers have been battling rapid inflation for two full years. They are not yet prepared to declare victory on the price increase, even though recent progress has given them hope. Because of this, they are signalling that a rate cut is likely in the upcoming months while maintaining high-interest rates, which is anticipated to hurt growth and inflation, according to the NYT.

The goal of central bankers is to move the economy in the direction of more expansion. While they want to make sure that interest rates remain high for a sufficient amount of time to bring price increases under control, they also want to avoid going overboard and starting a recession.

'The risks here are two-sided, we're in a situation where if we ease too much or too soon, we could see inflation come back,' Fed Chair Jerome Powell told a news conference on Wednesday. '

Fed officials, in their March policy decision, kept interest rates steady at about 5.3%, where they are set through July 2023. Policymakers also released a new set of quarterly economic projections for the first time since December and projected borrowing costs would end at 4.6 percent in 2024.