April 29 (UPI) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will announce the Federal Open Market Committee's latest interest rate decision Wednesday.
The Fed's target interest rate remains in the range of 3.5% to 3.75% ahead of Wednesday's announcement. Economists expect the target range to remain in place, with CME Group predicting it as a 100% certainty.
The Federal Reserve has elected to hold interest rates firm in its other two decisions this year while seeking to ease overall inflation to a rate of 2% annually. Inflation has remained well above 2% for five years.
The current rate of inflation in the United States is 3.3%.
War in Iran has dealt a blow to prices in the United States and abroad, causing energy prices to contribute heavily to overall inflation. Energy prices jumped 10.9% in March after the United States began strikes on Iran, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.
