US Fed expected to hold rate steady despite Trump pressure to cut [Video]

After three interest rate cuts in a row, the US Federal Reserve is expected to take a breather on Wednesday and signal it will remain on pause until the data changes, despite pressure to cut from President Donald Trump.

Analysts expect the Fed to do nothing this week as it waits to see which policies the new Trump administration approves and how they might affect the US economy.

“I think the Fed sits on its hands,” Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi told AFP.

“Until there’s more clarity — or any kind of clarity — around the economic policies of the Trump administration, the Fed is going to be reluctant to move,” he added.

The US central bank has a dual mandate from Congress to tackle both inflation and unemployment, primarily by raising or lowering its benchmark short-term lending rate which influences borrowing costs for consumers and businesses.

The US …