Ignoring Trump's pressure! The Federal Reserve remains unchanged, confidence in the prospect of inflation weakening, and the first rate cut may wait until June.

FOMC maintains the Interest Rate unchanged

The Federal Reserve (Fed) decided on Wednesday to keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged, pausing the downward trend since September last year. This move reflects the Fed's more cautious assessment of future policy directions amid current political and economic uncertainties.

Under the unanimous resolution of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the Federal Reserve will maintain the Federal Funds Interest Rate at the range of 4.25%-4.5%. This is the first time that the rate has remained unchanged since September 2024, after three interest rate cuts totaling 1 percentage point. The background of this decision not only includes economic variables but also the newly elected US President Donald Trump, who has been a critic of the Federal Reserve and immediately expressed his hope for further interest rate cuts after taking office.

Change in the Federal Reserve's policy stance: Weakening confidence in inflation

The Fed revealed some key messages in its post-meeting statement. Although the assessment of the labor market is relatively optimistic, the phrase "inflation has moved toward the 2% target" mentioned in the December statement was deleted, indicating an increased concern among decision-makers about inflationary pressures.

The latest statement indicates, "The unemployment rate has remained low in recent months, the labor market conditions remain robust, and inflation remains slightly high." This means that if the labor market is strong and inflation remains resilient, the Fed may find it difficult to further ease monetary policy.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powel (emphasized at the press conference,