The Federal Reserve left its benchmark fed funds rate range unchanged at 3.50%-3.75% on Wednesday, extending its pause for a sixth straight meeting as policymakers continue to grapple with stubborn inflation.
“Inflation remains elevated relative to the Committee’s target of 2 percent, partly reflecting supply shocks that have driven price increases in certain sectors, including energy,” the policy statement read.
“Economic activity is expanding at a solid pace despite increased uncertainty, partly due to the conflict in the Middle East. Productivity growth and capital investment are strong,” the statement added. “Job growth has kept pace with the labor force and the unemployment rate has changed little.”
There were three committee members who disagreed and preferred to raise interest rates by 25 basis points. Nine voted to keep the policy in place.
Bitcoin climbed to over $64,400 after the decision, up over 1% over the past 24 hours. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose, trimming earlier declines. Gold also rose, up 1.2% on the day.
The decision came after one of the most uncertain pre-meeting lineups in years. Futures markets had assigned about a 65% probability to one team and 35% odds of a quarter-point increase, according to CME FedWatch data.
