US Federal Reserve keeps interest rates unchanged for the fourth time in a row

The Federal Reserve Bank (the US central bank) kept interest rates unchanged at a range of 5.25 to 5.5 percent, in line with expectations, for the fourth time in a row, during its meeting today, its first meeting of 2024.

The Fed said in the minutes of its two-day meeting that it had finished the monetary policy tightening cycle, but was not now ready to cut interest rates.

The US Treasury said it plans to continue gradually increasing bond auction sizes through April, but after that it does not expect further increases for at least the next few quarters.

The US Department of Labor said that US labor costs rose less than expected in the fourth quarter, leading to the smallest annual increase in two years. At the same time, jobs in the private sector rose by 107,000 jobs last December, the national employment report showed on Wednesday.