US Federal Reserve policymakers kept the target interest rate unchanged today and signaled two quarter-point cuts are still likely this year.

The Fed's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) held the federal funds rate unchanged at 4.25-4.50pc, in the fourth meeting of 2025. This followed rate cuts of 100 basis points over the last three meetings of 2024, which lowered the target rate from more than two-decade highs.

In the Fed's first release of updated economic projections since President Donald Trump's 2 April "Liberation Day" announcement of far-ranging tariffs, policymakers continued to pencil in two quarter-point rate cuts for the remainder of the year.

Policymakers and Fed officials Wednesday lowered their estimate for GDP growth this year to 1.4pc from a prior estimate of 1.7pc in the March economic outlook. They see inflation rising to 3pc for 2025 from the prior estimate of 2.7pc, with unemployment rising to 4.5pc from 4.4pc in the prior forecast.

By Bob Willis