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Updated on: June 17, 2026 / 2:36 PM EDT
/ CBS News
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The Federal Reserve on Wednesday left its benchmark interest rate unchanged amid resurgent inflation, but nearly half of its policymakers said they would support a rate hike later this year.The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) kept the federal funds rate, which affects borrowing costs for consumers and businesses, in its current range of 3.5% to 3.75%. Economists had widely expected the central bank to keep rates steady. The so-called easing bias — a sentence in recent FOMC policy statements signaling the central bank was leaning toward cutting interest rates — was removed from the June guidance, which was significantly slimmer than the typical statement. The Fed also released its Summary of Economic Projections on Wednesday, which shows that nearly half of FOMC members said they could support a rate hike later this year. The vote to keep rates steady was unanimous, with all FOMC voting members in favor of maintaining the current range."Inflation remains elevated relative to the Committee's 2% goal, in part reflecting supply shocks that have driven price increases in certain sectors, including energy," the FOMC said in Wednesday's statement. "Today's meeting confirms that the Fed's recent hawkish shift was not just about higher energy prices," Kay Haigh, global head of Fixed Income and Liquidity Solutions in Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said in an email. "Despite the recent pullback in oil, half of the members of the FOMC expect rate hikes as soon as this year, reflecting strong labor market and inflation data. Haigh added, "Our base case remains that the Fed can just about avoid hikes, but the path is narrow, and there will be a high premium on the incoming inflation data."
