The Federal Reserve on Wednesday left its key short-term interest rate unchanged for the fifth time this year at roughly 4.3%, the Associated Press reports. The move was largely expected but signals that Fed Chair Jerome Powell won’t acquiesce to President Donald Trump’s demands that he cut interest rates any time soon.
Powell suggested that it could take months for the Fed to determine whether Trump’s sweeping tariffs will drive up inflation temporarily or push prices more consistently higher.
Economists and investors had expected a rate cut in September, but Powell’s most recent comments indicate that’s unlikely.
For the first time in three decades, however, two of the seven Washington-based governors dissented in the Federal Reserve’s decision. Govs. Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman voted to reduce borrowing costs, while nine officials favored staying put.
The choice to delay a rate cut will likely result in further conflict between the Fed and the White House.
