The decision last month to leave the benchmark federal-funds rate at its current level around 4.3% followed rate cuts at three consecutive meetings—beginning in September, when

Federal Reserve officials in January expressed their readiness to hold interest rates steady amid stubborn inflation and economic policy uncertainty.

Key Takeaways The Federal Reserve's policy committee is firmly in 'wait and see' mode as inflation has stayed high and President Donald Trump has yet to finalize important economic policies, the most recent meeting minutes show.