The US Federal Reserve has decided to leave interest rates unchanged – this is the sixth consecutive decision to keep the key rate at 5.25-5.5%. The decision is due to the continued increase in inflation, despite the decline over the past year. The FOMC stressed the uncertainty of the economic outlook and announced its intention to carefully monitor inflation risks. According to the statement of the regulator's representatives, starting in June, the reduction of securities stocks will be slowed down, and the monthly repayment limit for treasury securities will be reduced from $60 to $25 billion. The repayment limit for bonds and mortgage-backed securities of government agencies will remain at $35 billion, and all principal payments above this limit will be reinvested in Treasury securities. This indicates the Fed's desire to gradually reduce the number of bonds on its balance sheet. It is also assumed that the decision of the Federal Reserve System to keep rates unchanged was made against the background of a slowdown in US GDP growth. According to data from the Commerce Department presented last week, U.S. GDP growth was 1.6% year-on-year in the first quarter, slowing sharply compared with 3.4% in the fourth quarter of 2023.
