
The Federal Reserve wrapped up its regularly scheduled two-day meeting with a policy statement and Chair Jerome Powell's press conference. No one expected the central bank to bring rates down from a 23-year high, and if anything, markets braced for a "higher-for-longer" message from the Fed.
The central bank's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) left interest rates unchanged at its last meeting in March, and indications this time around, including from the latest economic reports, pointed to more of the same with inflation staying sticky and growth coming more slowly.