The Federal Reserve has signalled that US borrowing costs are likely to remain higher for longer, as it wrestles with persistent inflation across the world’s biggest economy.
The Federal Open Market Committee said after its meeting on Wednesday that there had been “a lack of further progress” towards its 2 per cent inflation goal in recent months — an addition to its statement that in effect delays rate cuts until the second half of this year at the earliest.
“It is likely to take longer for us to gain confidence that we are on a sustainable path down to 2 per cent inflation,” Fed chair Jay Powell said during a news conference after the announcement. “I don’t know how long it will take.”