The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday, June 14, but FOMC officials signaled they are prepared to raise rates again this year in due course to keep the fight against stubborn inflation. The U.S. central bank maintained its benchmark interest rate in the range of 5%—5.25%, as expected, the first time since January 2022 the Fed made no change to interest rates following a policy meeting. The Fed had raised rates at 10 straight policy meetings through May, bringing its target range from 0%—0.25% to 5%—5.25%, the highest since 2007, in just 14 months. Wednesday's decision to hold rates steady was unanimous.

Fed officials did, however, raise their interest rate forecasts for this year, signaling rates could rise to as high as 5.6%, implying two additional rate hikes are likely this year. Three officials see rates rising closer to 6%. Next year, officials see interest rates falling by 100 basis points to around 4.6%, higher than the 4.3% forecasted in March.

In its statement, the Fed said, “[Holding] the target range steady at this meeting allows the committee to assess additional information and its implications for monetary policy.”