The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) of the US Federal Reserve (Fed) decided on Wednesday to maintain interest rates within the target range of 5.25% to 5.5% for the eighth consecutive meeting, the highest since January 2001.
In its statement, the bank stressed that when considering any adjustment to the price of money, the Committee will carefully assess incoming data, the evolving outlook and the balance of risks.
"The Committee does not expect it to be appropriate to reduce the target range until it has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving steadily toward 2%," it said.
The US central bank has stressed that inflation has decreased over the past year and has acknowledged that in recent months there has been "more progress" in this area, but inflation remains "somewhat high."
