The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC, by its acronym in English) of the United States Federal Reserve (Fed) has decided to leave interest rates unchanged, which continue in the target range of between 3.75% and 4%, after the increase agreed at the previous meeting and in the final stretch toward the midterm elections —'midterms'— in the North American country.
With this resolution, the institution is taking a pause in the adjustment of the reference rate after the increase applied in September, the first since July 2023, which came after five consecutive meetings without moves since February of this same year.
The vote within the Federal Reserve has ended with 10 members in favor of freezing the price of money and two against, Lisa Cook and Beth Hammack, who have defended an additional increase of 25 basis points.
The central bank has indicated that economic activity continues to advance at a "solid" pace and that domestic consumption has remained "stable," despite the uncertainty linked to the geopolitical context. Likewise, the Fed has underlined the "strong" advance of productivity, a "robust" capital investment and the good performance of the labor market.
"Inflation remains elevated. The collection of more information will help the Committee determine the appropriate policy to ensure that inflation returns to the 2% target established by the Committee within the expected time frame. The Committee will ensure price stability," reads the statement released by the central bank.
In September, U.S. inflation stood at 3.7%, above the 3.4% recorded the previous month, driven by the rise in gasoline and other energy products. At the same time, the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil reached highs last week since May and is moving around 100 dollars per barrel.
As for employment, the labor market cooled in September with the creation of 29,000 new jobs, compared with the 133,000 jobs recorded in August, which points to some moderation in labor demand.
The Fed has thus opted for a temporary pause in its restrictive strategy, without considering the monetary tightening cycle concluded, so investors are now looking to the next meeting in December. This Wednesday's meeting was held less than a week before the 'midterms', scheduled for this November 3.