Fed holds interest rates steady at highest level since 2001 WHIO TV 7 and WHIO Radio [Video]

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve decided to hold its benchmark interest rate steady on Wednesday, postponing highly anticipated rate cuts as elevated inflation continues to burden U.S. households.

The announcement arrives days after new government data showed that the economy is cooling off.

The slowdown has coincided with a months-long stretch of stubborn inflation, putting pressure on the Fed to keep interest rates high despite a risk of hindering economic activity with expensive borrowing costs.

“The economic outlook is uncertain, and the Committee remains highly attentive to inflation risks,” the Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed’s decision-making body on interest rates, said in a statement on Wednesday.

Due in part to a lack of recent progress in lowering inflation, the FOMC said it does not anticipate cutting interest rates until it retains confidence that inflation is moving sustainably downward.

“So far the data has not given us that greater confidence,” …