Washington —
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday held interest rates steady as policymakers continued to navigate an increasingly uncertain inflation picture.
The central bank left its benchmark lending rate unchanged at a range of 3.5%-3.75% for the fifth consecutive meeting — but the decision was not unanimous, with Fed presidents Beth Hammack of Cleveland, Neel Kashkari of Minneapolis and Lorie Logan of Dallas dissenting in favor of a quarter-point rate hike instead.
That marks the most dissents for rates to head in the opposite direction of what the majority decided since September 2016.
Wall Street, however, is already convinced interest rates are heading higher, with investors increasingly expecting more than one rate hike by year’s end.
