Federal Reserve FOMC debates rate cuts as inflation rises

The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged Wednesday, as officials reckon with increasing evidence that their fight against inflation is losing ground — and signal that rate cuts aren’t coming soon.

Central bankers had been widely expected to leave borrowing costs between 5.25 and 5.5 percent, the highest level in 23 years, where they’ve sat since July. Much more focus is on how policymakers rate their odds of cutting rates later in 2024, and whether they see progress on inflation stalling out.