▲ This file photo, released by Reuters, shows U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaking during a press conference in Washington on Dec. 18, 2024. (Yonhap)

FOMC-rate decision

U.S. Fed holds key lending rate steady

By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 (Yonhap) -- The U.S. Federal Reserve kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged Wednesday, less than a week after President Donald Trump said he would demand rate reductions.

After the two-day Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, the central bank announced the decision to hold the rate steady at the 4.25 to 4.50 percent range. It followed a quarter-percentage-point cut last month, another 25 basis-point cut in November and a 50-basis-point reduction in September.

Last month, FOMC members' new median economic projections showed that the federal funds rate would be cut to 3.9 percent at the end of this year, signaling the possibility of two rate reductions this year.

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