Federal Reserve holds rates steady days before midterm elections
publishers 40articles 44first reported 27 Oct, 21:25 UTCdeveloping since 28 Oct · 5 editions
The Federal Reserve held its benchmark interest rate steady Wednesday, six days before the U.S. midterm elections, despite an acceleration in inflation.
The Federal Open Market Committee voted 10-2 to maintain the federal funds rate at 3.75% to 4%. Fed Governor Lisa Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack dissented, favoring a quarter-percentage-point increase.
In its statement, the Fed said accumulating more information would help officials determine the policy stance needed to return inflation to their 2% target. The central bank also said economic activity was expanding at a “strong pace,” an upgrade from its September description of growth as “solid.”
The decision followed the Fed’s first rate increase since 2023 at its September meeting. Consumer prices rose 3.7% in September from a year earlier, up from 3.4% in August, while core inflation excluding food and energy was 2.6%.
The pause had been widely expected after Fed officials indicated they did not see an urgent need for another immediate increase. Financial markets increased their expectations for a quarter-point rate rise at the Fed’s December meeting, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.
HOW THIS STORY WAS MADE
Written from 8 articles, 4 with the publisher's own text; 8 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written 24 h after the record first saw the story; the editor kept it as written.
- Publishers
- 40
- Source articles
- 44
- Given to the writer
- 8, 4 with the article's own text
- Independent newsrooms
- 8
- This version written
- 24 h after the record first saw the story
- Second model (editor)
- kept as written
- Publication gate
- passed
- Human review
- none
WHAT THE EDITOR DID
The second model checked the writer's draft against the same sources and published it as written.
Written by a language model from the sources above, then checked by a second model that may only cut, attribute or correct. How it works →