U.S. Fed Grapples With "Sticky" Inflation, Affirms Solid Economic Growth With Continue

The US Federal Reserve announced its interest rate decision today after a two-day Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, leaving the benchmark interest rates unchanged at 5.25 per cent - 5.50 per cent for the fifth straight meeting, in line with Street estimates. However, the FOMC said that it expects three rate cuts in 2024 despite sticky inflation. FOMC members also left the median projection for interest rates at end-2024 at the midpoint between 4.50 and 4.75. This means they still expect 0.75 percentage points of cuts before the end of the year, which would likely translate into three 0.25 percentage point cuts.