Federal Reserve interest rate announcement – just in

The Fed’s benchmark interest rate currently sits at a 22-year high as the central bank has introduced a series of rate increases during the past 16 months to curb inflation, which hit a peak of 9.1% in June of last year.

CNN reported that there seemed to be a consensus among Fed officials that holding rates steady at this time was the right move, with some arguing that the central bank has already hiked rates high enough to be able to bring inflation down.

The US inflation rate jumped to 3.7% last month, well above the Federal Reserve’s target level of 2%, but the fact that core inflation is falling strengthened the case for the central bank to hit the brakes on rate hikes.

Financial experts, however, believe there is a high possibility that the Fed will raise rates again after this month.

The Fed is next scheduled to meet on October 31 and November 1, with the central bank expected to assess a wide range of data on jobs, inflation, and economic growth in its next decision on interest rates.