Federal Reserve chooses to keep interest rates steady

(CNN)– For the fourth time the Federal Reserve is holding interest rates steady.

This keeps the fed’s benchmark lending rate at 23-year high even as wall street watchers are expecting rate cuts sometime this year.

In a bid to fight the fastest inflation spike the U.S. has seen in decades the Central Bank boosted these rates 11-consecutive times since March 2022.

Price hikes have slowed since then and are crawling closer to the 2% target and the fed wants.

Some analysts predict a rate cut could come in March.

But others say that could be delayed due to stronger-than-expected economic data easing financial conditions.