The Federal Reserve opted to leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged in its first policy meeting since President Trump's inauguration.

The central bank’s decision to pause at its first meeting of 2025 followed a series of cuts that began in September to account for progress already made on getting inflation down. Over the course of three meetings, the Fed lowered rates by a full percentage point to a range of 4.25 percent to 4.5 percent, which was maintained on Wednesday.

Consumers and traders are waiting to learn if the Fed’s pause is a one-meeting hold or the start of a longer stretch.

President Trump has said he will "demand" lower interest rates, raising questions about his ability to influence the Federal Reserve.

Fed chair Jerome Powell said he has not talked with Trump since the president demanded last week “interest rates drop immediately.”

That’s the prediction of Bank of America economists who think Canada’s central bank will cut 25 basis points on Jan. 29 and then hold its key rate at 3 per cent. “We expect the forward guidance to signal a pause as the BoC waits to see how both domestic activity and U.S. trade policy play out,” said the economists led by Carlos Capistran.

The standoff between Donald Trump and the US Federal Reserve is intensifying. The Fed kept rates on hold this month, much to the US President's displeasure. Our James Knightley looks at where the battle lines lie and suggests we might not see a rate cut until June at the earliest

It all began around 10 years ago during the Obama administration, with the former president, famous for bringing progressive hope and change. He began the crackdown on banks over whom they did business with, nominally looking to debank money launderers but also focusing on politically incorrect industries like gun manufacturers.

Most people pay little attention to the Federal Reserve and monetary policy. But they have an outsized impact on your bank accounts.

LONDON (Reuters) - In a week when AI chipmaker Nvidia suffered the biggest one-day loss of value on record and the Federal Reserve said it was in no hurry to cut rates again, a few gauges underscore markets' vulnerability to big swings.

The president bashed Jerome Powell on inflation less than two hours after the Fed chair announced interest rates would stay put. As Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan may attest, Trump’s timing is not coincidental.