The Federal Reserve voted to maintain interest rates.
“The U.S. economy has been expanding at a solid pace,” Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said. “While job gains have remained low, the unemployment rate has been little changed in recent months, and inflation remains somewhat elevated.
“The FOMC decided to leave our policy rate unchanged. We see the current stance of monetary policy as appropriate to promote progress toward our maximum employment and 2 percent inflation goals. The implications of developments in the Middle East for the U.S. economy are uncertain. We will remain attentive to risks to both sides of our dual mandate.”
“Available indicators suggest that economic activity has been expanding at a solid pace. Consumer spending has been resilient, and business fixed investment has continued to expand. In contrast, activity in the housing sector has remained weak. In our Summary of Economic Projections, the median participant projects that real GDP will rise 2.4% this year and 2.3% next year, somewhat stronger than projected in December. In the labor market, the unemployment rate was 4.4% in February and has changed little since late last summer. Job gains have remained low. A good part of the slowing in the pace of job growth over the past year reflects a decline in the growth of the labor force, due to lower immigration and labor force participation, though labor demand has clearly softened as well.”
The Federal Open Markets Committee seeks to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2%over the longer run. However, it wrote that “uncertainty about the economic outlook remains elevated. The implications of developments in the Middle East for the U.S. economy are uncertain.”
