The US Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday and pushed out the start of rate cuts to perhaps as late as Dec, with officials projecting only a single quarter-percentage-point reduction for the year amid rising estimates for what it will take to keep inflation in check.
The markdown in the outlook for rate cuts, from three quarter-percentage-point reductions seen in the Fed’s March projections, was made despite the central bank’s acknowledgement in its new policy statement of “modest further progress” towards its 2% inflation target – an upgrade from its May 1 statement.The statement said inflation remains “elevated”.
The S& briefly pared a strong gain and was still up 1% . The yield on benchmark US 10-year notes ticked higher but was still down sharply on the day at 4.28%.
