United States Interest Rate

The Federal Reserve kept the target range for the federal funds rate unchanged at 5.25%-5.50% during its May meeting for the sixth consecutive time, as ongoing inflationary pressures and a tight labor market indicate a stall in progress toward bringing inflation back down to its 2% target this year. Policymakers acknowledged that while inflation has moderated over the past year, it remains elevated, and there has been a notable lack of further progress towards achieving the central bank's goal in recent months. Still, Chair Powell stated that he does not foresee a hike as likely and believes that the current policy is sufficiently restrictive to achieve the 2% inflation target. The Fed has also declared its intention to reduce the speed of its quantitative tightening starting from June 1st, an adjustment that will involve cutting the maximum amount of Treasury securities being removed from the balance sheet by over 50%, down to $25 billion monthly from the previous $60 billion.